Man[Goes] to Norway

Henry David Thoreau wrote in his essay Civil Disobedience that he is freer (free + er) in jail than outside. So, he'd rather be in jail?

Well, most of us would rather not go into jail or prison right. Especially not PRISON! At least, not with the traditional prisons we see in America. Enter "humane" prisons.

The "humane" prison concept was designed to provide more freedom for the prisoners and a "real world" feel. "Humane" prisons have mostly been implemented in western Europe and Scandinavia. These prisons focus more on rehabilitation than punishment. 

The most important aspect of "humane" prisons is the layout. Most prisons are designed with the idea of fitting the most prisoners and easier transport of prisoners. These prisons often come in the "courtyard," "telephone," or "radial" layouts. Meanwhile, "humane" prisons built in the "campus."

This layout separates the different facilities, forcing the inmates to move around. Even the trees inside the prison perimeter are carefully. For example, tall birch trees are planted to distract from the perimeter walls.

 The above layout is of Halden Prison, Norway. No[r]way. No, yes way. It "detains" around 250 individuals, close to its maximum capacity. Most of the ideas that I presented earlier were voiced by the governor of this prison. Even though it is a maximum security prison, its inner guards are unarmed. This facilitates a more communal environment. There are game rooms, communal rooms, etc. The prison has often been criticized for being like a hotel. The prisoners are are even served steaming tall stacks of heart shaped waffles with jam.

(Hopefully it's not mango, because believe me, mango jam does not taste good.)

 

I mostly agree with the ideology behind "humane" prisons. These prisons allow prisoners to be released ready for the world. If prisoners continue to be violent, they can be moved to other places. However, the implementation of these prisons don't come cheap. The Halden prison cost about $130 million. Also, Norway has a lower proportion of criminals than other countries, about a sixth of the United States.

So, what's your opinion?

 Now, here's some Norwegian scenery:

 

 

 

 The End

Note: Most of the textual edits are intentional. I am addressing this because there were a couple of complaints. For example, I made the knife with blood dripping from it using words in the last blog post. I also split the countries I gave as examples and colored them red.

(Ex: So      uth             S   uda   n)

Hint: What happens to a country when a civil war breaks out.