If prisoners were made to enjoy, but they're not!

Many times, we have seen real trends showing how prisons in the developed world are enticing and attractive places to stay because of the facilities available and how prisoners are treated, especially with good food, organised entertainment shows, and educational programmes. This has made a lot of people—yes, a lot of African people—to jokingly say they would rather stay in Western prisons than continue living under hard conditions in some parts of Africa.

“Are people being encouraged to commit crimes?”

Whenever such things are suggested or practised in Africa, this question always comes up. People argue that prisoners are meant to suffer and perish for the crimes they committed, not to be entertained or fed better than law-abiding citizens.

Yes! I am an African man, and I am never in support of prisoners enjoying life more than the average citizen.

Take a look at this situation:

Imagine if you had only one sister, and her boyfriend took her life. Out of anger and heartbreak, you wanted to take revenge by taking the guy’s life, but that would be a wrong step. So, you allowed the law to take its course. The guy got arrested, tried in court, and was found guilty. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Meanwhile, the guy did not feel any remorse for what he did at all. He boldly accepted the jail term.

*Then, towards the end of that same year, you saw on TV that the guy and other prisoners were being entertained by one of the top musical artists in the world, and they were well fed with delicious delicacies. Wouldn’t you run mad at the sight of seeing that on TV? Well, if you would not get mad, I certainly would. I would even wish I had the power to take down the guy inside the prison.

I am not mincing words: if prisons are given luxurious facilities and prisoners are treated like number-one citizens in a country, that is going to encourage more crime. People will simply say they will spend four to five years in prison if they are caught for the crime they are about to commit.

I wish all deep and serious crimes carried the death penalty.

Photo: MetaAI