The people in this country amuse me. Now that the ‘open season’ for the celebration of our favourite patron saint takes off we see devotion like no other.  Non-stop religious rituals are complimented by the devotion of people as they sway the bradella to the innu march and fireworks rock the village. How neat and sweet indeed (no tongue in cheek here).  This is a lovely mix of cult, faith and spirituality -  all very important facets of a healthy nation. 

The people in this country befuddle me. 

We donate so much money to NGOs like no other country. I wonder if it is time to try and understand why we donate so passionately.  Some give so much money that they are ready to end up short of resources themselves.  People grumble that there are charity campaigns happening all the time yet they still give profusely. 

The people in this country baffle me.

We have an incredibly robust social welfare platform. 

We don’t only provide for free education at all levels but also give stipends for those reading post-secondary courses.  We don’t only supply excellent health care but we also have a contributory and non-contributory welfare system that is unbelievably generous and supportive.  True, we might need to tweak it here and there but if truth be told most of our vulnerable populations are somewhat supported and with every Budget come new measures and improved services. 

Well, all of the above is virtuous. 

It is absolutely fine to have such a lovely tapestry that designs our communities.  Malta has in many ways shown that it will not leave too many by the wayside.  This cannot be said for those who are incarcerated, lets face it, people we are not interested in.  The most famous of phrases we use in this regard is ‘armi ic-cavetta’ (throw away the key). 

Let’s be clear here.  I personally don’t consider myself to be a champion of the prison population.  If people have done wrong, whether it has to do with an impulsive reaction, a social mishap, bad upbringing, mixing up with the wrong crowd or because s/he is a socio- or psychopath doesn’t really matter.  We have the rule of law that we need to subscribe to. 

But to still have solitary confinement is perplexing.  This is an issue that we don’t even care to debate let alone reflect on.  Even though so many reputable institutions and Pope Frances himself has condemned such practices we still think that people merit to get institutionalised torture. Doleful indeed. 

United Nations:

“Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, Supermax, the hole, Secure Housing Unit… whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by States as a punishment or extortion technique,” UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Méndez told the General Assembly’s third committee (www.un.org)

Council of Europe:

“Solitary confinement can have an extremely damaging effect on the physical, mental and social health of prisoners, and that damage is likely to increase the longer the measure lasts and the more indeterminate it is. An indicator is that the suicide rate of prisoners under this regime is higher than that among the rest of the prison population. This practice raises serious issues with regard to the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment”, said Lətif Hüseynov, President of the CPT. (www.cpt.coe.int)

I have discussed this issue with forensic psychologists, lawyers, criminologists, therapists, psychotherapists, counsellors, psychiatrists, social workers, youth workers both in Malta and abroad and they have all agreed that sentencing people to solitary is as inhumane as it comes.  They have all confirmed what empirical research has shown throughout the years that solitary confinement is nothing short of torture, coercion and cruelty. 

Seems that Rekluzjoni in Malta can be applied to two different circumstances.

Firstly, our justice system provides for solitary confinement as an extended form of punishment handed over by the Judge.  Secondly, it appears that the prison authorities apply solitary confinement when they feel that there is a good enough reason either to isolate someone because of safety issues or as an internal disciplinary procedure. 

Whilst I wouldn’t agree with either, at least in the first instance when the Judge gives solitary as part of the sentence there is some form of control.  In other instances, that is, when the prison regime decides to apply it for internal disciplinary procedures there is no known public record of how long and for what reason solitary is given.  

Whatever the case, solitary is an act of savagery. 

Yes, even for those who have committed the most heinous, monstrous and odious of crimes, if we are happy to measure all within the principle of retaliation, ‘eye for an eye’ philosophy then we might as well pack up. In that case let’s do away with the Courts and revert to the Code written by Hammurabi where the principle of reciprocity is applied.  If we go down that road, I hope we do apply this Code to everything and everyone.  Oh and whilst we are at it, let us do away with the justice system, jostle people into the piazza (as long as there are no fireworks and feasts being celebrated) and stone the bastards.  Because let’s face it, if instinct had to take over the odious crimes these people have made they might not deserve anything less than that. 

The issue here is that people are in prison because they deserve to be there, and I do believe that we need secure facilities for these individuals who are a danger to society and themselves.  However, it is a known fact that these same people, even for the benefit of the community, would profit from an attempt at rehabilitation.  For those serving a life sentence rehabilitation is equally important.  People first and foremost need to realise what they have done and come to terms with their evil behaviour.  Rehabilitation might not just change the way you are but it is also intended to make you realise what you have done. 

In life guilt is what takes us forward.   

Solitary is simply an act of torture because as experts have repeatedly claimed all over the World prisoners placed in solitary exhibit negative psychological reactions, severe depression, problems with concentration and memory and it creates physical, mental, emotional and psychological consequences.   Solitary increases the incidence of suicide in prisons.      

On a practical level what I am proposing is that:

Solitary Confinement in our penal system should be removed completely.  Any isolation that needs to happen within the prison regime has to be governed by health and safety of the individuals and monitored by an independent body from outside the prison regime. I feel that what the Criminal Code lays out in terms of procedures is not convincing enough.  (On a separate note, whilst we are at this, I also think that we should consider introducing parole in life sentences unless it is proved without any reasonable doubt that the person’s condition is irreparable).

I think that in this day and age when transparency risks turning into the mother of all clichés and fair dealing is more than vengeance – it’s time to turn things around. 

To the politicians: it’s OK to be unpopular with a decision you take every now and again, more so, it shows what a formidable politician is made of when this is the case..