November 2011 Blog Posts (8)

A brilliant prison psychologist told me the following story. In the Central Prison of Budapest there is a so called drug prevention unit which operates like a drug free unit: inmates here have drug user past, they agree that they wont use any drugs within the prison and therefore they can enjoy some privileges like home leaves more frequently or a more friendly environment where the can listen to music or they are allowed to play psp.

Smoking is not permitted in the common areas of…

One of the most dangerous Hungarian  inmate recently made a picture with a rose and other flowers for the prison psychologist after an ugly and harsh quarrel between them. The psychologist a young lady, the inmate is a young Romani guy who killed someone also within the prison overdosed from benzos.

Other prison psychologist told me that he had a client in the female prison Kalocsa. The inmate was also a murderer, she killed a patient in a mental institution in her netbed setting her…

There’s been some good news in the media lately for anyone who cares about kids and justice. Federal statistics show that the number of juvenile offenders in jail has dropped by at least 25%. Along those same lines, the New York Times recently reported that New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has called for moving most juvenile cases from criminal court to family…

Impunity is to beat up an inmate in a prison being a prison officer in an unacceptable, unjust and illegal way, and getting no criminal procedure at all, in contrary, you will be celebrated among staff members that you are brave and you defended the honor of the community. Your self respect is even higher and you can climb froward in prison hierarchy. You repeat the beating again and again, and after a while you will get respect also among the inmates. And you say that you do not feel any…

Prison suicide is hard to witness also for the staff. I spoke to prison officers who opened up a prison cell in which two prisoners attempted to commit suicide after killing a third. The motive was that the third prisoner was a pedophile. The nurse saved the life of the other two. They were overdosed with benzodiazepines. A staff member said that the cell was full of smelling and steaming blood. It was new years eve. The guy said that he could not forget the smell of the blood which was all…

I spoke to a prison psychologist. She works at the service at least since 25 years. She has to make interviews also with staff members. She has to decide whether staff members are fit for the prison service mentally. Inmates are sitting in her office on a chair. She said some prisoners smell bad because of lacking basic hygiene.

One staff member was summoned to her office to undergo an inspection on the service fitness. He sat on the same chair. He said: "This chair smells you have to…

Commemorative packs and Starbucks' loyalty cards coming soon?

In-tents protesting