Packed Thai prisons need urgent reform: study

[webfact]

Packed Thai prisons need urgent reform: study

By Prae Sakaowan 

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Thai prisons are massively overcrowded with some inmates forced to sleep sideways, a rights group said Tuesday, urging reform in a country with the world’s sixth largest jail population.

 

The kingdom’s worst facilities are five times over their capacity, with inmates forced to sleep on their sides or lay their legs over one another, according to a report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

 

Successive governments have done “very little” to tackle the overcrowding, said FIDH’s Southeast Asia director Andrea Giorgetta, adding that food, sanitation and medical care are also woefully inadequate.

 

Full story: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/packed-thai-prisons-need-urgent-reform-study/

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-03-01

[Kasset Tak]

When I was teaching in Phichit prison 3 years ago the male inmates had about 1sqm floor space each in their cells and female inmates had even less with about 0.8 sqm floor space each in a 36 sqm cell (including 2 toilets) housing 35-38 inmates!

[darksidedog]

2 minutes ago, evadgib said:

Haven't they just purged them via an amnesty?

A very small minority in relation to the overall prison population.

As reported 70% are in for drugs, many serving, 30, 40, 50 years or more.

The amnesty gave about a 1 in 6 reduction, so someone with 30 years got 5 years off, but are still not coming out anytime soon.

If Thailand doubled its current number of prisons, everyone of them would still be massively overcrowded.

In Nong Plalai, outside Pattaya, cells meant for 20 are housing 70 or more! Sleeping conditions are known as spooning, i.e. sleeping so tight to the next person it is like spoons in a cutlery set.

The report is absolutely correct in its overcrowding, food (Not fit for a dog), and medical care, which is a joke.

6 week queue to see the doctor and 2-4 weeks on top for medicine to arrive. Much of which gets stolen before being distributed.

No dental care at all, other than every couple of years someone comes in and just pulls out teeth.

Is improvement needed? Yes, desperately.

Thailand IS signatory to several International prisoner rights treaties, but does close to nothing to actually adhere to them.

[trogers]

They need a study to know about such a fact? Just download and play the original Sim City...

[tukkytuktuk]

Well I think there are simple ways to reduce prisoner population in Thailand :-

- Reduce the sentences for crimes by half.

- Those who have drug sentences. If the inmate does a drug rehab course then he gets a year off his sentence.

- Lower the sentences for soft drugs.

- Allow more prisoners to reduce their sentences through credit for good behavior.

- Let all prisoners over 55 years old out. Free to go.

- Find other ways to punish criminals. Fines, community service, special courses, etc..

- and finally, send all foreign prisoners back to there home country prisons.

[PremiumLane]

7 minutes ago, tukkytuktuk said:

Well I think there are simple ways to reduce prisoner population in Thailand :-

- Reduce the sentences for crimes by half.

- Those who have drug sentences. If the inmate does a drug rehab course then he gets a year off his sentence.

- Lower the sentences for soft drugs.

- Allow more prisoners to reduce their sentences through credit for good behavior.

- Let all prisoners over 55 years old out. Free to go.

- Find other ways to punish criminals. Fines, community service, special courses, etc..

- and finally, send all foreign prisoners back to there home country prisons.

Must easier way, decriminalize drugs

[williamgeorgeallen]

reduce the price for the prisoners to buy their way out. pretty simple really.

[Jimbo2014]

Well if they stopped prosecuting minor drug infringements with long prison sentences.  Oh and maybe if it wasn't half sentence for pleading guilty and full if pleading not guilty.  How about fairer courts?  That might work? 

[Beats56]

Let the ones go.with small personal amount of drugs. Keep the big time dealers. Why put someone in prison with a small bag of pot or one meth pill.

Make them report to officials..and test them every month. Keep clean and you are free.

 

[muffy]

3 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

Must easier way, decriminalize drugs

Make everything legal ?.

 

[300sd]

A third of the inmates are there on trumped up charges. You know, the ones that never paid the fake fines! Yes those are the honest ones who didn't pay and trusted the justice system to defend their rights.

[300sd]

A great man said these words, I think it is true in my humble opinion:    "The way that a society treats its prisoners is one of the sharpest reflections of its character"

[gdgbb]

24 minutes ago, 300sd said:

A third of the inmates are there on trumped up charges. You know, the ones that never paid the fake fines! Yes those are the honest ones who didn't pay and trusted the justice system to defend their rights.

Could you explain that so that it makes sense?  "Honest ones who didn't pay their fines"?

[KenKadz]

I do believe the President of the Philippines might have the answer.

Did the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) suggest this?

[PremiumLane]

1 hour ago, muffy said:

Make everything legal ?.

 

Yeah, cos that is what I meant. Quite simple, the war on drugs is a complete and utter failure and a joke. 

 

Drug addiction is a medical not a criminal problem. Plenty of research and evidence to back this up.

[snowgard]

1 hour ago, muffy said:

Make everything legal ?.

 

YES!!! Produce all the shit under controll and sale it in pharmacies. The income can be used for drug reconnaissance videos, better
Health programs, ..., Tax, ...
 

[300sd]

3 hours ago, gdgbb said:

Could you explain that so that it makes sense?  "Honest ones who didn't pay their fines"?

Yeh, honest ones who didn't pay their fake fines, because they didn't do anything. "Fake fines from fake charges. Because they didn't pay their fake fines, they suffer real penalties and unfortunately the time in prison is not fake. I hope this clears that up for you. 

Edited March 1, 2017 by 300sd

[gdgbb]

5 hours ago, 300sd said:

Yeh, honest ones who didn't pay their fake fines, because they didn't do anything. "Fake fines from fake charges. Because they didn't pay their fake fines, they suffer real penalties and unfortunately the time in prison is not fake. I hope this clears that up for you. 

No, still clear as mud, what's a fake fine?   Any examples of what you mean?

[wakeupplease]

12 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

No, still clear as mud, what's a fake fine?   Any examples of what you mean?

Andy Hall

[300sd]

7 hours ago, gdgbb said:

No, still clear as mud, what's a fake fine?   Any examples of what you mean?

Google the definition of "fake". If you don't get it then I'm sorry I can't help you. 

[colinneil]

They want to reduce prisoner numbers in Thailand?

Answer is easy, get rid of all the corrupt lying police, and  officials and start again.

Edited March 2, 2017 by colinneil

[mick220675]

A man in our village has been sent to prison last month, he was sentenced to 10 years for stealing a aluminium ladder. I do not know the details, but I can understand why the prisons are overcrowded.

[gdgbb]

10 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Andy Hall

Andy Hall didn't pay a bean and didn't serve any time in prison.

[gdgbb]

3 hours ago, 300sd said:

Google the definition of "fake". If you don't get it then I'm sorry I can't help you. 

I don't need to, I know what fake means.  What I don't know, though, is, what the nonsense term "fake fine" means.  You obviously can't explain what you wrote either.

[jaltsc]

"Thai prisons are massively overcrowded..."

 

This is really strange, considering that the biggest crooks are running around free.

Edited March 2, 2017 by jaltsc

[tukkytuktuk]

On 01/03/2017 at 1:35 PM, PremiumLane said:

Must easier way, decriminalize drugs

The government is already talking about this. Legalizing marijuana and krathom leaves. Even meth (yabba) in small amounts could be legalized to give police more time to go after the suppliers. As for other drugs such as herion (opium) , cocaine (crack), ice or ecstacy, I doubt any of these will be legalized. Not sure why these particular hard drugs are never considered by governments for legalization because the worst drug of them all in meth (yaba). I saw a documentary about meth addicts and it's such terrible drug. The same goes for herion, another destructive drug that ruins lives.

 

So yes, decriminalize some drugs but not all. That should bring down the prison numbers.

[PremiumLane]

4 hours ago, tukkytuktuk said:

The government is already talking about this. Legalizing marijuana and krathom leaves. Even meth (yabba) in small amounts could be legalized to give police more time to go after the suppliers. As for other drugs such as herion (opium) , cocaine (crack), ice or ecstacy, I doubt any of these will be legalized. Not sure why these particular hard drugs are never considered by governments for legalization because the worst drug of them all in meth (yaba). I saw a documentary about meth addicts and it's such terrible drug. The same goes for herion, another destructive drug that ruins lives.

 

So yes, decriminalize some drugs but not all. That should bring down the prison numbers.

Agree, but I would decriminalize them all. Doesn't mean they would be available at 7-11 or Tops, but would take the criminal element out of it and give access to treatment for addicts.