Penal conditions - A recipe for disaster

The purpose of prison may be to punish criminals and protect society from dangerous offenders but surely the objective should also encompass something more humane and positive, something with the potential to be life-changing and redemptive.

Today’s report that a third of offenders in St Patrick’s Institution are locked in their cells for 20 to 23 hours a day for their own safety is depressing and unacceptable.

This suggests two things — St Patrick’s is a violent and dangerous place and the young men — aged 17 to 21 — sent there are unlikely to be exposed to the kind of positive influence that might offer them a life away from crime and self-destruction. Is it any wonder that it is so very hard to break out of the cycle of crime that has already ruined so many young lives?