Prison life is mostly a continuous repetition of the same day, over and over again. Finding a purpose and a meaning beyond "punishment" can be a struggle. Often people are not in prison long enough to discover anything worthwhile beyond a new set of criminal alliances. Or people end up inside for so long that any good that might have been achieved along the way is undermined by bitterness and resentment. Prisons are the most shaming of all our public institutions. The United Kingdom imprisons more of its people than virtually any other country in Western Europe - in conditions, which are frequently an affront to civilized values, and at great cost to the taxpayers. Yet the vast majority of our prisoners do not present a serious threat to life or limb. Their crimes are such that they can be more humanely, economically and effectively dealt with in the community. Nevertheless, many consider imprisonment to be the punishment of choice. They feel that when the offender is jailed, justice is served.
             The paradox of imprisonment lies in society's expectations: the community wants retribution, as well as rehabilitation. Interestingly, for many, sending people to prison is not enough; they insist that offenders must suffer while they are in prison. But only somebody who has never been to prison would believe that jails are "soft" places. But the truth is that the harsher a prisoner feels himself to have been treated, the less of an obligation he will feel to abide by society's rules, and the more likely new victims will be created after his release. Official figures speak for themselves - more than half of prisoners re-offend within two years of release (Mathiesen 1990).
             Prison is designed for disempowerment. Everyone in jail is vulnerable to a greater or lesser extent. Prisoners live at the mercy of those who are in charge, and of each other, and dignity is a scarce commodity. There are various problems in prisons: sexual assault of...