Society to blame for ex-convicts going back to crime:

Death penalty under review - Prisons Commissioner

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

With the announcement by the Ministry of Justice to re-impose the death penalty as a step towards bringing down the crime rate, shock waves are rippling around the prisons, where there are over 256 prisoners noosed in the death row.

The idea of hanging criminals was mooted from time to time and the previous government went to the extent of importing a new rope from Malaysia and also appointing a hangman. But the idea dried up as several groups including clergies protested against it.

Following the recent spate of grave crimes including the double murder at Angulana where policemen murdered two innocent youth, the government is now considering the possibilities of re-introducing the death penalty.

According to the Commissioner General of Prisons Maj. Gen V.R. Silva, Minister Milinda Moragoda will submit his recommendations to the President after an in-depth study.

Meanwhile, the prisons officials are accused of offering ‘super’ treatment for notorious drug lords and underworld king pins. But reputing this allegation the Prisons Chief said that no ‘star class’ treatment was offered to any prisoner and all were equally treated.

Putting down his thoughts to implement a plan to convert the prisons into modernised enclaves, he said his priority is to look into the welfare of the prisoners as well as his officers while easing the congestion in prisons which are now nearing bursting point with over 32,000 inmates.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: In the wake of escalating crimes in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Justice has announced re-imposing the death penalty. From when will this be implemented?

A: I am not the deciding party on this. What I have to stress is that I am not the sole authority to re-impose the law.

Q: But the Minister has announced the decision of re-imposing the death penalty?

A: Yes, I know that the Minister has announced it, but he has said that he will study the subject in-depth. Therefore, I hope that he will make his own recommendations to the President.

Q: If the ministry is going to introduce the death penalty, are there any suggestion to bring changes in ways of giving the punishment. Are we going to introduce electric chair or lethal injections to the system?

A: At the moment we have not gone to that extent. No discussions had taken place on this aspect. But if it is to be implemented, the existing system will be implemented.

Q: How many are in the death row?

A: There are 256 males and one female in the death row. There are over 540 including 11 females who have appealed.

Q: Appointing a serving Army officer as the Prisons Chief, according to the Prison officials is an attempt to militarise the system. What do you have to say?

A: As I am appointed as the Commissioner General there are no plans to militarise the system. I have been serving in the Army for the last 34 years and in certain areas that influence might come.

But the Army is not going to play the prison officer’s role.

The military will not get involved in rehabilitating prisoners. It is totally a different subject. Prison officials, who are trained to do so, should handle it. But there are certain areas that we could assist to have a good control in the prisons.

Q: The custody, care and correction is the main theme of the prisons. How do you see the correction aspect?

A: This is the most important aspect with regard to prisons. We need qualified people and this is another obstacle that we are facing at the moment. This area needs improvement and I have plans to bring quality training for prison officials. The other problem that we are facing is lack of resources. The most crucial problem is overcrowding in prisons. At the moment a large number of convicted prisoners are housed in all prisons. But we have very limited number of qualified prison officials to handle them.

Q: Commissioner Generals come and go, but no concrete solutions have been brought so far to meet these challenges. How do you plan to overcome these?

A: I must say that this is a department which has been neglected for years. No improvements have taken place. The only plus point is that the ministry is very keen and giving lots of support to make the system more efficient.

I am trying my best to bring the whole system to a standard. There are two areas that I have identified. One is the welfare of the officers and the second is looking after the prisoners well.

The grievances of the officers have been neglected and their promotions have not been given. Their transfers have been done in different ways. These need to be corrected soon. The man who handles people that went against the accepted norms should be treated fairly to make the system efficient. The prison officials are a set of people who work under stress.

The minister and the secretary are very positive to solve these issues, and I hope I would be able to introduce new plans to redress these issues.

The administrative structure is another major area that needs to be considered in bringing a quality system. This has deteriorated so badly.

The other is the welfare of the young offenders. We have plans to keep all the young offenders at one place.

Q: While other prisons in the world have modernized facilities, our prisons are still in the era of 1844. How do you plan to develop the system?

A: Yes, I agree that we are really backward compared to other prisons in the world. Here, prison officials are carrying out physical body checks for entry into the premises.

But this is not efficient enough to prevent unauthorised stuff going into the prisons. I had discussions with the Defence Secretary and the Minister and they agreed to the proposal, and scanners will be introduced in main prisons - Welikada, Bogambara, Mahara and Kalutara.

Q: The prime objective of a man being imprisoned is to rehabilitate him to prevent crimes. But are these prisoners really rehabilitated during their tenure in prisons?

A: This is a difficult area to give a correct answer. As you said our main concern is rehabilitation of prisoners. However much these people come back to normal once they are released they go back to the same society. But the Prisons Department is trying its maximum to rehabilitate all prisoners under our wing.

As a first step we are going to separate the drug addicts and to move them to a different location. We have already identified three locations - Pallekelle, Taldena and Weerawila - to house the drug addicts separately. Out of the total convicted prisoners, over 37 inmates are on drug offenses.

We are pushing for expansion of these prisons, which are over-crowded. The number of prisoners keep increasing due to the escalating crime rate in the country. As far as their accommodation is concerned, we are badly in need of expansion. There are over 6000 in Welikada Prison which has facilities for only 1,500 people.

Q: According to statistics over 57 per cent of those released from the prisons are re-imprisoned. Isn’t this an indication there is no efficient rehabilitation system in place in the prisons?

A: I don’t agree with you. I have studied this aspect and it is not the fault of the rehabilitation system, but as I mentioned earlier, these people go back to their same old society or the environment which is vulnerable to crime. Say X is rehabilitated here, but upon release he goes to the same old society and he will get the same exposure. Though he does not want to engage in wrongdoings he too has no other option.

Rehabilitation of prisoners is a very complicated issue and there are things that the Prisons Department can do and cannot do. We can rehabilitate these prisoners to a certain extent, but not 100 percent. But as I have explained when the man is out of the prison wall he mingles with the same society where all sorts of evils are there to drag him back to crime.

He who is labelled as a criminal too has no other option but to hang on to the same. Ultimately, he comes back to the prison. This is a vicious cycle which the Prisons only could control. These people need the help of society to convert into good citizens.

Q: Out of the total number of prisoners, over 42 per cent are imprisoned due to drug offences. Though they are kept behind bars for rehabilitation, drugs are freely circulated in prisons with the help of certain prison officials. What is your comment?

A: I do not deny this allegation and these are the stories going around and I am trying my best to prevent these illegal issues. I have educated these officers and certain measures have been taken to control the situation. Now I can see a decrease in such occurrences.

Q: There is another allegation that there are a set of such corrupt prison officials, but they go scot free and no Commissioner General has been able to touch them. What do you have to say?

A: This is a general allegation, but no one upto now has forwarded me any such complaint. If somebody can give me concrete evidence I am going to take tough disciplinary action against them. Even I am ready to hand over the case to the Commission of Bribery and Corruption or to the CID for further investigations.

Q: According to information, they are top ranking officials and the prison officials are scared to complain against them. In such a situation how do you plan to minimise corruption within prison walls?

A: However much they are corrupt I cannot just take action against them. That is why I said that if somebody can prove them to be corrupt I am prepared to give the maximum punishment.

I will conduct thorough investigations. I will direct the cases to the relevant institutions for action. If I have evidence such officers cannot escape.

Q: Earlier, there was a proposal to move the Welikada Prison. What is the progress?

A: It is very much on the cards as space is needed. But there are lots of practical problems involved in the issue. According to the plan, the convicted prisoners will be moved to another place and the remand prisoners will be kept in Welikada.

Q: It is said that some influential prisoners are getting star class treatment in the prisons, is it true?

A: If there are such places inside the prisons with star class accommodation, I do not mind staying there. No such special treatment for any prisoner and if you want you can go in and see for yourself.

Q: Using mobile phones was banned, but it is said that still they are available in the prisons.

A: Yes, using mobile phones inside the prisons is banned and controlled to a certain extent. But still I get complaints about using phones.

I will take measures to take all phones into custody soon.