The Worst Prisons In The World
Prisons throughout the globe differ in terms of size and available facilities. The latter’s availability depends on the kinds of offenders that the facility houses and their security level. Some prisons are a bit luxurious in terms of beds as well as access to private toilets. Additionally, some offer a variety of leisure activities such as rock climbing, tennis, and horseback riding. However, there are prisons on the opposite end of the scale, such as those that are highly overcrowded, have overly violent environments, and do not provide enough medical treatment for their prisoner populations.
Overcrowding is a problem in many jails throughout the globe. Cells designed to accommodate just ten prisoners have been reported to hold over 100 inmates at a time, as you’ll see as you read on. Moreover, there have been reports in other facilities where the staff members torture and even murder inmates for their sadistic satisfaction.
Below is a list of some of these correctional facilities that have been branded as the worst.
North Korean Camp 22
Camp 22 is a North Korean facility in the city of Hoeryong. It was a detention facility that was believed to have undergone decommissioning in 2012. This facility has been a center of human rights violations. These violations include human lab experiments and sadistic torture. However, the government of North Korea has always denied the existence of the facility.
Reports indicate that the circumstances in Camp 22 were severe such that 1500-2000 people would die just from starvation annually. Notably, the majority of the deaths were juveniles.
Prisoners were subject to various forms of torture, including hanging, water torture, box chamber torture, and kneeling torture, among others. They were also tested subjects by unprofessional medical personnel, who would perform surgical operations on them. Mostly, the test subjects would end up dead.
San Quentin Prison, USA
This prison is the oldest correctional facility in California and one of the country’s most notorious prisons. Additionally, it is the only facility with a gas chamber and death row in the state. Over the years, the facility has been home to many serious criminals, including serial murderers and rapists. Violence has been and will continue to be a problem at San Quentin. This is true due to the types of inmates it holds. As a result, it is in line to remain one of the worst places to end up in, either as an inmate or a worker.
San Quentin is home to the nation’s largest concentration of death row prisoners.
Notable Incidents
A death row prisoner slashed a guard’s arm during uncuffing on 25th January 2006. The prisoner was underway to the execution before snatching the guard’s sword.
Additionally, more than 100 prisoners were wounded as a consequence of racial assaults in February 2006.
ADX Florence
This facility is also known as USP Florence. It is a maximum-security prison in the United States. The facility started operations in 1994 and houses serious crime convicts from around the world. Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber), Ramzi Yousef (who was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing), and Zacarias Moussaoui (who took part in the 11th September attacks) are examples of such criminals. Inmates at this institution spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. Moreover, the cells are concrete and of small size, normally 7-by-12-foot. The cells have immobile concrete furniture, including a stool, desk, and bed with a small mattress.
Each cell has a window that is barely 3 feet in height and four-inch length. Further, the staff supply meals via tiny holes in the steel doors.
Inmates only get one hour of leisure time during which they are under strict observation and restraining. Notably, they do not spend their leisure time completely outdoors but in a tiny outdoor cage. The former Warden Robert Hood described the facility as a clean version of hell.
Diyarbakir Prison, Turkey
The jail in Diyarbakir is infamous for its harsh tactics and violations of human rights. The violence in Diyarbakir stems mainly from the actions of the prison personnel rather than from the prisoners’ actions. Mehmet SiddikMese is just one of the unlucky individuals who has served time in Diyarbakir and undergone torture. There were 34 deaths at the prison between 1981 and
1984, most of them due to torture and suicide. In 1996, there was an occurrence at the facility resulting in the deaths of ten prisoners and injury of twenty-three inmates at the hands of prison personnel.
Gitarama Prison, Rwanda
Gitarama Jail, the world’s most overcrowded prison, is home to nearly 7,000 inmates. However, the initial design of the facility was to accommodate just 400 inmates. The vast majority of the prisoners are suspects of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Prisoners in this facility often stay barefoot on the dirty ground for most of the day because of severe congestion, which causes their feet to rot. The eventual result is the amputation of most of the inmates’ legs.
The prison has just one full-time doctor as part of the staff. As a result, the majority of inmates usually lack proper medical care resulting in multiple fatalities.
La Sabaneta Prison, Venezuela
The facility held more than 3,700 inmates residing in a severely overcrowded environment before its closure in 2013. The initial intention was for the facility to have 700 persons. The overcrowding was a cause of the spread of disease and violence among the prisoners.
La Sabaneta’s management was a corrupt system in which guards would offer preferential treatment to some inmates in exchange for money. The individuals who got the preferential treatment got to sleep in cells on beds, while the rest of the population would fight for space on the corridors.
Furthermore, there was no daily schedule of predetermined activities. This freedom was a source of idleness among inmates, which would result in violence and confrontations. The overly crowded cells were also a source of the regular violence in the facility.
Gldani Prison, Georgia
Gldani Prison was formerly a torturous facility. Prison officials were known to engage in human rights violations on inmates. For instance, there was video footage on 18th September 2012 of prison personnel raping, torturing, and beating prisoners. Major Georgian national televisions aired the footage. Students and citizens of Georgia held demonstrations across the country as a result of the broadcast. Later, the government made orders to prosecute and punish guards those guards who were engaging in human rights abuse. In fact, the government made a zero tolerance for human rights violation declaration.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
This facility has faced many criticisms over the years. Some of them include:
- Detention of people without charge or trial.
- The regular infliction of torture on detainees, including waterboarding and sexual assault.
There have been numerous instances of successful suicides and attempts at Guantanamo Bay in recent years. A notable event in the facility was during a hunger strike by detainees. They were protesting against indefinite imprisonment. The military took measures of forceful feeding by using nasal and rectal tubes, which is another violation of their human rights.
Rikers Island Prison, USA
Rikers Island comprises of ten different prisons that hold men, women, and juveniles. The prison has a reputation for extreme violence, corruption, and terrible abuse of its inmates, especially those with mental health issues.
The facility experienced a brutal beating to the death of an 18-year-old inmate known as Christoper Robinson in 2008. This matter was a source of uproar, forcing deep investigation on the issue. As a result, the investigators discovered that the inmates responsible were members of “The Program.” This was a secret group under the operation of correctional officers.
The program’s goal was to use certain inmates to exert violence against other prisoners as a means of maintaining order in the facility. Moreover, Rikers has one of the highest rates of solitary confinement in the United States. The solitary cells are regularly utilized, that the Department of Corrections recently constructed 1,000 unique isolation rooms for teenagers and people suffering from mental disorders.
Black Dolphin Prison, Russia
It is a Russian penal institution that houses some of the most violent offenders in the country, including serial murderers, pedophiles, and terrorists. Correctional officers in the facility move prisoners around the facility with shackles and eye blindfolds. They do so to prevent them from plotting escape plans or assaulting prison personnel.
Moreover, prisoners only get 90 minutes for daily exercise. However, they cannot lay down or sit on their bunks during the whole 16-hour period of awake time. Notably, each inmate has an average number of five murder victims. As such, the 700 inmates in the facility have a total of 3500 victims, making it one of the most notorious facilities in the world.
HMP Belmarsh, UK
There are just three maximum-security prisons in the UK, with Belmarsh being one of them. The facility is home to a wide variety of male prisoners, with terrorism convicts being the majority. This prison offers inmates with educational, fitness equipment, and workshop opportunities. Nevertheless, it’s a place rife with violence. An inspection report indicates that the degree of violence has only risen since the previous facility’s inspection, with a total of 49 attack attempts on staff and 58 on other prisoners.
Bang Kwang Central Prison, Thailand
This prison is a maximum-security institution with its location about 11 kilometers north of Bangkok in Thailand. Leg irons are compulsory for new prisoners for the first three months of their sentence. However, death row inmates must wear the leg irons permanently until their execution. The facility has an internal class structure in place, with the poorer prisoners doing tasks for the wealthier inmates in return for food and other perks.
Terre Haute, USA
This prison is divided into three levels of security: maximum security, medium security, and low security. Terre Haute has its location in Indiana and is also known as “Guantanamo North.” The government carries out some federal executions in this facility.
Further, there is a Special Confinement Unite for holding death row prisoners. The units are tiny, allowing only one occupant who gets out three times a week for exercise. Moreover, inmates at the facility cannot see their families or friends.
One of the notable inmates is Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber, who will spend time at the institution until the execution date.
The Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM), USA
It is a maximum-security institution for males that is situated 15 miles south of downtown Santa Fe. The facility has three distinct sections with designations as levels II, V, and VI. It is a supermax institution that holds death row prisoners and offenders who represent a larger danger to other inmates, prison staff members, and the community.
The facility has been part of the most violent prison riots in United States history. For instance, the 1980 riots resulted in inmates seizing control of the whole facility and holding 12 guards hostage. This rebellion resulted in the deaths of 33 prisoners.
Arthur Road Jail, India
Arthur Road Jail, also known as Mumbai Central Jail, is the oldest prison in Mumbai. It is also the largest in the city, and it is infamous for understaffing problems and overcrowding. There have been gang battles in the facility resulting in the harm or the death of prisoners for several years. The initial plan for the construction of the facility was to have a capacity of 800 prisoners. Despite this, it now holds more than 2000 inmates, exceeding its capacity, giving the inmates an incentive to engage in violent acts.
Ciudad Barrios Prison, El Salvador
This facility only housed the Mara Salvatrucha gang members, often known as the MS-13. It was in operation between 2004 and mid-2015. This facility is one of the most dangerous institutions in the nation, with the prisoners themselves serving as the ruling body. The students are violent that even the staff members cannot come in between the management affairs. Notably, the inmate-guard ratio is 50 inmates for every one guard.
The prisoners operate their own bakeries and healthcare facilities, and many have extensive tattoos with gang symbols. The inmates also engage in frequent fights, which may lead to the death of some inmates.