Life's better in jail, say ex-prisoners hit by Aids

Life's better in jail, say ex-prisoners hit by Aids

By Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg
Last Updated: 1:22am BST 30/04/2007

South African convicts freed on parole are clamouring to go back to prison because they cannot get jobs or the free anti-Aids treatment they received in jail.

"Many thousands" of them are demanding to be allowed to return to their squalid, overcrowded prisons, according to the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (Saphor)

At a press conference in Johannesburg, some 150 said that they could not find jobs and would be better off inside.

They said that they faced the stark choice of resorting to crime to feed themselves and their families - or simply going back to prison. "I cannot feed myself as there is no work," said Amos, a convicted thief.

"Like most prisoners I am suffering from Aids and I can't get the free treatment I got inside. I really don't want to return to crime but the only alternative for me is to go back to prison."

Others cited the onset of the southern hemisphere winter for their desire to return to the cells. "In the summer, I can sleep outside," said Sipho, a car thief. "It is too cold in winter. In prison there may be too many people but at least it is warm and we get hot meals."

Golden Miles Bhudu, the Saphor organiser, said the demand of parolees to be re-admitted was "a wake-up call" to the authorities.

"They must ensure they put into place a policy to ensure the smooth integration of these offenders into society," he said.

"This group decided to alert the authorities to the very harsh and terrible conditions ex-offenders find themselves in. You just can't put people on parole without support."

The correctional services department said people would go back to prison only if they violated their parole terms.

In theory, most prisoners out on parole have been convicted of what passes in South Africa for minor offences - theft and crimes without violence. Yet because of chronic prison overcrowding, armed robbers and even murderers have been granted parole.

This has done little to ease the pressure on the prison population - now holding double the inmates it has capacity for. More than 40 per cent are infected with HIV or Aids, according to recent surveys.

The Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria has described prison overcrowding in South Africa as "a national crisis". In a report, the institute said: "The situation needs to be addressed urgently in order to promote a long-term and sustainable national response to crime and its associated problems.

In addition, current prison conditions result in unacceptable infringements of prisoners' human rights and freedoms."

President Thabo Mbeki insists that crime is not out of control. But official figures show that South Africa experiences 50 murders every day - and the level of violence used in burglaries and car-jackingings has increased sharply.

Convicts say that most prisons are nothing more than "finishing schools" for criminals, where offenders learn how to join gangs, acquire and use firearms, forge documents and adopt the finer points of robbing banks and breaking into houses.

In an editorial, The Citizen in Johannesburg said the disclosure that so many criminals wanted to go back behind bars "speaks volumes about conditions in jail compared to life on the outside".

The newspaper said the move raised serious questions about South Africa's prison system and the possibility of ever defeating crime.

"For these offenders, prison is no disincentive. In the absence of more severe punishment, can it be true that crime does not pay?", the editorial asked.

UPDATE: Iain Dale's Diary has linked to this tragic story here. It is worth noting that heroin addiction was rife within South African prisons during the 1970s, and did not reach British prisons until the early 90s. Now it is a large scale problem over here. Also, there are many in prison in this country who are unable to cope outside of prison and prefer to live inside with the security of having their lives controlled for them by the routine of the regime. Another disturbing similarity is that because of the overcrowding over here prisoners are getting released who perhaps should not be.

SAPHOR website here.