How much longer long will The Press (Christchurch) keep inflicting the twitterings of Mike Yardley on its readers?
In his column 6/12/08 Yardley takes his twit stick to those who see prisons as not just a place of punishment, but as a reflection on society as a whole. He seems to have a particular disdain for the Howard League for Penal Reform and their concerns that over crowded prisons do not provide the best results.
Yardley writes “The Howard League and company are apoplectic that serious, violent offenders now face the dire prospect of having to share their cell with a fellow inmate, who might bash or violate them.”
Perhaps Yardley might like to reflect that:
a) Many, if not most, prisoners are not “serious, violent offenders”.
b) Many prisoners are in jail for crimes other than violence, such as deception, fraud, drink driving, drug use, etc.
c) Many prisoners are in jail, more because they have a mental illness or incapacity than because they are hardened criminals.
d) Prisoners have the same rights and expectations as the rest of society to be safe from violence.
Yardley may like to return to the days of the lash, but if so, let him consider
1. Corporal punishment was administered by an appointed authority and under known conditions; it was not a process of random violence inflicted by inmates upon each other.
2. It would be more intellectually honest of Yardley to put the case for a return to corporal punishment, not hide behind throwaway lines like “double bunking (…) delivering more bang for our buck.”