It was not so long ago that prisoners were fed bread and water and chained up together during the day to perform hard labor. Some even say that we need a return to those days! Nowadays prisons are very different and a variety of programs (some rather strange) have been implemented as jail time moves away from punishment to rehabilitation. This is a selection of ten of those new programs.10
Children in prison
2251494641 8Df45A2F96In the early 1990s the Mexico City government decided it was better for children born in prison to stay with their mothers until they were 6 rather than to be turned over to relatives or foster parents. The children are allowed to leave on weekends and holidays to visit relatives. A debate continues among Mexican academics over whether spending one’s early years in a jail causes mental problems later in life, but for the moment the law says babies must stay with their mothers. In Ohio they are trying a program called The Achieving Baby Care Success program. It began in June 2001. The 12 mothers currently participating live in a special wing of the prison. The babies sleep in identical cribs in their mothers’ cells. Between prison roll calls, mothers take their children to the in-house nursery for scheduled activities.9
Victim Offender Mediation
Img 0013 600Victim-offender mediation, or VOM (also called victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation, or restorative justice dialogue), is usually a face-to-face meeting, in the presence of a trained mediator, between the victim of a crime and the person who committed that crime. The victim gets to explain how they feel and felt, and what needs were not met as the result of the action of the offender. The offender is to repeat what he or she hears (i.e. feelings and needs) and continue to listen and repeat what the victim says she or he feels and needs.