Many of our criminals are people with emotional and mental health problems. In addition, most of them are ill-educated. Prisons should not just be places where punishments are meted out, they should also play a role in the rehabilitation of criminals. These correctional facilities should provide criminals with psychological therapy, a basic education and job training, giving them a chance to re-join society as productive citizens. Under our current system, we lock up criminals and throw away the key only to release them some years later. Unsurprisingly, most of these criminals resume the activities that landed them in jail in the first place. Rehabilitating criminals and monitoring their return to society is a far better course of action.
Haleema Sadia
Rawalpindi