A few months ago, after I got to see The Shawshank Redemption, a movie that came across, that was when I first thought about prison healthcare. And watching this movie, I was so amazed that even though they were kept in a place to punish them for whatever they might have done, they were still treated as humans. And this brought an uncomfortable question to my mind, especially: what if the victim could have been someone like me?
If a person who is now a prisoner killed someone or commits an offence that sent him or her to prison, why should he or she be taken care of by tax money or whatever money he or she might be using? I understand that frustration. Because sometimes, it becomes very difficult to even get drug money, let alone afford hospital bills ourselves, and then we hear that someone who is a chronic criminal has been treated in a prison. And that alone might look like the government or that prison gives more value than we can imagine to criminals than they do to citizens.
And in reality, there is another side to this that I cannot look away from. When I checked the meaning of 'prison', I saw that it's a place where criminals or offenders are being sent to serve a punishment, and it's not a sentence to sickness or death. Even though a man might lose his freedom, that doesn't make him less of a human.
And one thing that some people don't know is that not all those who are behind bars are criminals and not all have been convicted. Some have been in prison for years and are probably forgotten because they can't afford bail or because their case has been delayed unnecessarily. So, if we treat all inmates like hardened criminals, I feel that will be so unreasonable.
There is something practical. Disease can affect anyone, and it doesn't care if someone is a criminal or not. And due to overcrowded cells, diseases like flu, infections, tuberculosis and other diseases can easily spread fast, even from prison workers and into the wider community. So, if the treatment in any prison is reduced, it doesn't mean the prison will be safe. It only means the problem there will become much bigger.
But looking at these very closely, I feel I understand why some law-abiding citizens can be angry because of this, which might be valid. Prison healthcare should not become an excuse for corruption, waste, careless spending or luxury. The treatment given should remain the basic treatment, not an extravagant or overly expensive one. If there is struggle in our public hospitals, it's the duty of the government to fix it instead of creating resentment between suffering people.
I had a change of mind when I got to know that justice can become dangerous when it starts depending on our view and how much we dislike those who are receiving it. I would prefer to live in a country where someone who did terrible things is treated with dignity, because that gives me a clearer view about the society protecting me. So, a prisoner's freedom might be taken away by the rules of law, but their humanity should not be taken away.
Thank you for reading.
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