Even criminals don’t accept certain crimes
October 16, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, My Column
Source - Kaieteur News
There are not many of us who would want to go to jail. Not even the most serious criminals in our midst ever contemplate going to jail. Of course some of them do the most stupid things, but they never associate their actions with jail.
A reasonable person would think that if he or she does something criminal then that person could end up in most cases, sacrificing his or her freedom. A reasonable person would say that this is always the case, but I have learnt from experience that this is not so.
I happened to be in the vicinity of Stabroek Market when a young man snatched a woman’s chain. He got a beating. I expected him to say that he took a chance. Instead, that young man left me with the conviction that many people are no better than the lower animals. A dog sees a piece of meat on a table in a home. He thinks about the danger but the need for the piece of meat outweighs the penalty. In psychology I learnt about the id, the ego and the superego. The id is the most basic of the human psyche. It is the basic need. We all have id.
As we develop the power of reasoning through learning we learn to control the id. This is not intended to be a lesson, but I was forced to recall these thoughts early yesterday when I learnt of what went on behind prison walls Friday night.
A prison is supposed to be a place where people are rehabilitated. However, for some people there is no thought like rehabilitation. Even inside people do the same criminal things that they would have done on the outside. The difference is that their actions are influenced by their constriction.
A man remanded for murder actually killed a cell mate. People in the vicinity did not hesitate to kill him. It was like the jungle. Killing is supposed to be the hardest thing one can do. Even soldiers go to war having been trained to kill but actually try to refrain from doing so right up to when they are discharged. They would kill under the most pressing circumstances.
But for all the criminals do they maintain basic principles that would surprise the most intelligent person in our midst. There are some crimes that they would not tolerate. Child abuse is one. I have read about cases in prisons all over the world. A child molester never stands a chance amidst the most hardened criminal.
Rapists are also not tolerated. The jailed criminals actually ask the prison authorities to allow that individual to be placed among them. Some officers actually comply and the rapist or child molester is dealt with condignly. They are sodomised and some are actually killed out of hand.
In Guyana, the most recent case of morality among prisoners was observed Friday night. Earlier in the week, a man went berserk and butchered his children. This act was inexplicable because people, no matter what, adore their children. People even risk their lives for children. So when this man killed his own many people were angry, not least among them prisoners who were in jail for killing another person.
What happened when this man was remanded on Friday needs no explanation. He entered the prison walls and I heard that there were requests for his presence in certain cells. Wider society would say that the prison authorities know what happens to such people and should have special arrangements for them. They should keep them away from the general population.
This was not the case; the newly remanded person ended up with hardened prisoners, perhaps because the prison officers responsible for assigning him his temporary lodging were also angry at what he did. Early Saturday morning the alleged children killer was at the hospital seeking medical attention.
The hardened criminals beat him mercilessly. They were sending a message to him that what he did is never done in a society. Had he killed his wife or any adult they told him, they would have accepted him and may even have sympathized with him.
He must now wonder about his continuing days in the prison. He is not going to be safe in the general population. And the jail is so overcrowded that he cannot be allowed a private cell. Even Death Row inmates have to share cells.
Someone once said that there is no honour among thieves. I say otherwise. They all have their limits, even the most illiterate among them. The irony in this case is that at the same time this man was undergoing his trauma at the hands of the other inmates, his last victim was dying. That child subsequently died, the third and last of the brutal attack conducted by a man against his children.
October 16, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, My Column
Source - Kaieteur News
There are not many of us who would want to go to jail. Not even the most serious criminals in our midst ever contemplate going to jail. Of course some of them do the most stupid things, but they never associate their actions with jail.
A reasonable person would think that if he or she does something criminal then that person could end up in most cases, sacrificing his or her freedom. A reasonable person would say that this is always the case, but I have learnt from experience that this is not so.
I happened to be in the vicinity of Stabroek Market when a young man snatched a woman’s chain. He got a beating. I expected him to say that he took a chance. Instead, that young man left me with the conviction that many people are no better than the lower animals. A dog sees a piece of meat on a table in a home. He thinks about the danger but the need for the piece of meat outweighs the penalty. In psychology I learnt about the id, the ego and the superego. The id is the most basic of the human psyche. It is the basic need. We all have id.
As we develop the power of reasoning through learning we learn to control the id. This is not intended to be a lesson, but I was forced to recall these thoughts early yesterday when I learnt of what went on behind prison walls Friday night.
A prison is supposed to be a place where people are rehabilitated. However, for some people there is no thought like rehabilitation. Even inside people do the same criminal things that they would have done on the outside. The difference is that their actions are influenced by their constriction.
A man remanded for murder actually killed a cell mate. People in the vicinity did not hesitate to kill him. It was like the jungle. Killing is supposed to be the hardest thing one can do. Even soldiers go to war having been trained to kill but actually try to refrain from doing so right up to when they are discharged. They would kill under the most pressing circumstances.
But for all the criminals do they maintain basic principles that would surprise the most intelligent person in our midst. There are some crimes that they would not tolerate. Child abuse is one. I have read about cases in prisons all over the world. A child molester never stands a chance amidst the most hardened criminal.
Rapists are also not tolerated. The jailed criminals actually ask the prison authorities to allow that individual to be placed among them. Some officers actually comply and the rapist or child molester is dealt with condignly. They are sodomised and some are actually killed out of hand.
In Guyana, the most recent case of morality among prisoners was observed Friday night. Earlier in the week, a man went berserk and butchered his children. This act was inexplicable because people, no matter what, adore their children. People even risk their lives for children. So when this man killed his own many people were angry, not least among them prisoners who were in jail for killing another person.
What happened when this man was remanded on Friday needs no explanation. He entered the prison walls and I heard that there were requests for his presence in certain cells. Wider society would say that the prison authorities know what happens to such people and should have special arrangements for them. They should keep them away from the general population.
This was not the case; the newly remanded person ended up with hardened prisoners, perhaps because the prison officers responsible for assigning him his temporary lodging were also angry at what he did. Early Saturday morning the alleged children killer was at the hospital seeking medical attention.
The hardened criminals beat him mercilessly. They were sending a message to him that what he did is never done in a society. Had he killed his wife or any adult they told him, they would have accepted him and may even have sympathized with him.
He must now wonder about his continuing days in the prison. He is not going to be safe in the general population. And the jail is so overcrowded that he cannot be allowed a private cell. Even Death Row inmates have to share cells.
Someone once said that there is no honour among thieves. I say otherwise. They all have their limits, even the most illiterate among them. The irony in this case is that at the same time this man was undergoing his trauma at the hands of the other inmates, his last victim was dying. That child subsequently died, the third and last of the brutal attack conducted by a man against his children.