The Prisons Authority is piling a list of alternatives to prison, said Lt. Ali Al-Harthi, chief of the Prisons Authority. The list includes alternatives to prison during investigation and trial periods, including release on bail. The statement came after the conclusion of the Prison Alternatives Conference in Jeddah, Wednesday. As slammers across the country run out of space and resources, there is still a much nobler cause to this step as not to alienate the prisoner from his normal social life, he said. It is not really as alleged the large prison population that has advanced the cause of this new list, he said. The Prisons Authority in the Kingdom envisioned these measures seven years ago after the prison had started to slowly lose its disciplinary image, Al-Harthi said. When the criminal goes to prison, he starts to adapt to a new life with a new prison culture that does not really deter him from getting back into it with an open heart, he added. “He would not fear to go to prison again; it has become his best place after being socially rejected,” Al
