Here are some more child imprisonment haikus from a student in Malta:

What is in a name?

University of Crime –

The same as prison.

……………………………………….

One million children –

Lock the door and break the key;

That’s their destiny.

………………………………………………

My father beat me;

Mom made me a prostitute…

I pay for their crimes.

……………………………………..

I’ve cried all my tears

I’m sick and there’s no doctor

Body and soul, jailed.

Tanja Cilia

Malta

Europe

A Diminishing Flame

Cold eyes and hard floors
Torn apart, Spit at, and pain
Darkness, hope is gone

–Radhika

Also, a reminder: The deadline to submit your essay is May 1, 2010!!! That’s less than a month away.

If you are still researching, here are some great resources from the Howard League for Penal Reform:

Children in Trouble with the Law

Saturday Night Regret

I miss you, my child.

Your heartbreaking fingernails

reach through the bars.

Taytay Jail, Manila, Philippines

1 meter by 5

—sit, sleep, stand, sit, sleep, stand, sit—

I am Dennis, 15.

Right and Wrong according to a 7-year-old

I have a right hand

but no wrong one. Except for

when I hold a pencil,

or hit Jimmy.

Life Imprisonment without Parole for Juveniles

All fleshy faces.

The judge glanced once, curious.

I will die enclosed.

Behind the Lines

I try to love you—

rattle on the concrete floor,

role model shattered.

*Haikus by Lauren Bleam

*Do you have a haiku on this issue or would you like to write one? If so, please leave a comment with it here or email it to me at lauren@oakseed.org. I will post the best ones next week!

Obviously, both are needed–but where is the line? Will the child learn his lesson by hard, long years in prison or by undergoing rehabilitation programs? The danger in imprisonment is that the child will not learn but instead become more corrupt. The danger in rehabilitation programs is that they will not sufficiently punish the offender. Check out this article by Prison Fellowship International for their take:

Restorative Justice

The golden rule is “Do unto others what you would have other do unto you.” What if you were a child stranded in the streets with no living parents? Your stomach is growling and you long for shelter from the hot sun. You are totally alone in the world, and no one helps you. Would you think it was fair if you were punished for this hard lot by being thrown in prison? What if you were an African American child who had been abused his or her entire life? You live in a community of gangs, and that is the only place one finds belonging. You fight to defend yourself. You become partially a product of your environment. Would it be fair for you to be thrown in prison? These are the questions that we need to be asking when we look at the issue of child imprisonment worldwide. The first scenario applies to developing worlds, and the second to the US. Although the cases are different, particularly in the degrees of their need for social change, both cases require action. These children are largely alone, abandoned by society. They cry out for help. Their voices must be heard.

In the developing world, the amount of children in prison is shocking. In Rwanda, it is 600 (UNICEF 2009), and in the Philippines it is estimated that there are 20,000 imprisoned children (Philippine Advocacy, 2005). Child imprisonment in the developing world looks different than it does in the United States. This is best illustrated by examples. Women in Nairobi are sometimes forced by their families to marry people that they do not love. These agreements can be made when the child is as young as 9. (International Environmental Law Research Center, 1995) After being forced into marriage, women sometimes commit adultery to try to incite their husbands into divorcing them. Adultery is punishable by a fine that women are often unable to pay (since the men usually have exclusive control over the family assets), and so many of the adulterers end up in jail. With no other childcare available for the mothers, they are forced to bring their children into jail with them. At such a young age, these children will incur severe psychological damage from such an experience (IRIN, 2003). It is evident in this case that stronger laws need to be in place that advocate for women and defend their rights. Instead of being treated as property, women need to have rights and a voice! With women’s rights legislation in place, some of these problems would be entirely eliminated.

In Georgia, children could be imprisoned for years for a crime as small as stealing a toy. It is also common for children 17 and under to be put into prison while awaiting trial, an experience that is highly detrimental to a child’s development. It is possible that, after a year in prison, a child will be found innocent of his or her crime. This time in prison is very damaging to a child’s growth (UNICEF, 2005). It is clear that Georgia needs a better detention system for children awaiting trial. In addition to this, there need to be more resources available to children so that they will not be forced to commit crimes to survive. Alternative care programs could benefit these children greatly. Similar problems occur in Namibia, where street children are regularly imprisoned for lack of a better solution. (All Africa, 2008)

Child imprisonment in developing countries is largely due to extreme social problems. Women are often less valued and supported in developing countries, so it is easier for them to find themselves unfairly imprisoned. Since women in developing countries are less likely to have an alternative caretaker available for the child, children are often imprisoned with their mothers. Children are also more likely to have less financial resources, often forcing them onto the streets. There they frequently have few options except to commit crimes to obtain basic necessities. Basic social structures need to be put in place, such as equal rights for women and care centers for children. Unless these basic problems are addressed, the issue of child imprisonment will be much more difficult to solve.

The problem of child imprisonment looks different in the US. Since basic social structures are largely in place, the children are imprisoned for different reasons and with different results. One problem that the US has in child imprisonment is racial inequality. There are a disproportionate number of African American children in prison when compared to white children, especially in certain states. Alabama is one of the states with the worst records, as over 84% of children sentenced to life without parole are black. (EJI 2009) In this case, it would seem that the statistic is due, at least in some part, to racial prejudice. In a state historically hostile to African Americans, many people still see African American children as more likely to commit crimes. This, in turn, continues the cycle. In the rest of the US, more African American children than white children are imprisoned, but not with such a drastic difference (56% more African American children imprisoned) (EJI 2009).A history of racial inequality in the has led to poor economic situations for many African Americans. Cycles of poverty and crime need to be broken to end this trend of imprisonment.

Recent developments in the US have caused citizens to be more aware of child imprisonment. Two Supreme Court cases to be decided in the fall, Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida, concern juvenile imprisonment for life without parole in the US. The juveniles were convicted for rape and for robbery. The Supreme Court will have to address the issue of whether or not imprisonment of juveniles for life without parole is Constitutional. It has been argued that child imprisonment for life without parole violates “cruel and unusual punishment.” (CNN 2009) This has raised a lot of public interest in the issue.  Over 2, 250 incarcerated would be affected by the ruling (American Society of Criminology, 2008). It is beneficial that the issue is being brought before people, if simply so that they are made aware of the problem of child imprisonment. This is an issue somewhat overlooked in the US media at large, but the court case is helping to raise awareness of it.

As opposed to the US, developing countries do not have the same access to media or the same legal systems in place to decide critical questions such as these. This contributes to the public having less of an understanding of the issue. Child imprisonment tends to be more hidden in developing countries, and the conditions that the children are kept in are rarely exposed. The most exposure they tend to get is through journalists from developed countries writing about the problems. The neglected and unhealthy imprisoned children are often overlooked amidst the host of social problems that these countries struggle under. They remain vulnerable and defenseless, in desperate need of advocates.

There needs to be more public awareness of child imprisonment, both in the US and in developing countries. It is a critical issue that too often gets swept under the rug. However, the first step towards resolving these problems is informing people of them. The children in these prisons cry out for healing, for redemption. Yet too often they are left alone, with no one to fight on their side. If more public awareness is raised, then programs can be devised that will reform children rather than simply punish them. Social measures can be taken in developing countries, including reform centers that children can go to instead of prison. The incarceration of African American children can be reduced when we improve schools and give these children an equal opportunity to rise above their surroundings. However, learning about these issues is an excellent step. When we have compassion for children in prison, we can put ourselves in their places. Then we can learn what it truly means to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

:”The legislation provides parole options for inmates who were 15 years of age or younger when prosecuted as adults and sentenced to more than 10 years, including life sentences, if certain strict criteria are met that demonstrate their rehabilitation (See related article: ‘Second chance for children in adult prisons’). Although the legislation was blocked in committee and was not brought before the Senate or the House for a floor vote, Clinical Professor Annino promises, ‘We will re-file in December 2009 for the spring legislative session in 2010.’ ”

Read the full article here

What do you think about the issue raised in the article of retributive vs. restorative justice? Which is more effective?

Read more about this here

Which approach to you think is best? What makes the most sense for both the rehabilitation of the mother and the development of the child? At what age is prison an unhealthy environment for children?

New York Times

Fig Leaves for a Failing System