JUST a couple of weeks after the Human Rights Society announced that it would investigate the problems of overcrowding in the Kingdom's prisons, Brigadier General Ali Al-Harithy, Director General of Prisons, has revealed a number of potential programs that shows the prisons administration in the country to be more enlightened than one might expect. First of all is the all-important issue of education behind bars. Already, three universities have enrolled inmates in post-graduate programs and another 567 prisoners have expressed interest in using the Internet to participate in long-distance studies programs. The means of fulfilling these interests are apparently being provided now. One extremely important decision on Al-Harithy's part is the move to destroy records of prisoners who have received pardons. “Ex-con” is not a pleasant tag to carry around in society, especially when one is trying to put one's life back on track. Employers, understandably, shy away from ex-cons, pardoned or not, and the inability to get a job can simply induce an endless cycle of crime. A prisoner can be put through hours and hours of rehabilitation and reform programs – all for naught if he is not given a chance to restart his life on the outside. A time-off-for-good-behavior program is also already underway, allowing a prisoner a day out of prison every month for good behavior and the possibility of a shortened sentence, as well. Prisons are not supposed to be nice places but that does not mean that they have to be inhumane places, either. If, as a society, we believe in the basic goodness of humanity, then prisons should be places for more than punishment. They must be institutions that force an individual pay for his crime while providing him the opportunity to lay a foundation for a later life that is not dependent on criminal activity. For sure, the Saudi prison system has a long way to go, but small steps being taken today may well go a long way in the future. __
