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Today’s
Blog Post
It could be a SAD Day when they close Kingston
PenitentiaryAfter
reading the newspaper articles today I am a little sad. KP is closing. (KP for non-Ontario people is Kingston Penitentiary.)
The dark and cold prison is closing for good. The decision has finally been
announced. The old gray building that sits on the shores of Lake Ontario is now
going to be done.
How
can anyone be sad when something that represents a cold and heartless way to
treat people? Men and women back in the
late 1700s would be housed in this place because of being bad people. Their “housing” was horrible to say the
least.
Back
then the rules were very different from now. The prisoners were not allowed to
speak at all. If they did they were beaten with whips and sometimes kept in
small boxes.
In
the Prison Museum across from the KP are artifacts that have been assembled to show
the torture methods that were used on human beings in KP.
I am
very happy that this “old days” are now gone and that we as human beings can
see a faint glimpse of light in the humane treatment of even the worst
creatures that exist in our society.
I am
not happy that men and women will lose their jobs with this closure. Politicians have stated that they staff will
be moved to other institutions in the area.
They will be “assimilated” or something into the other places of work
that house prisoners.
BUT
and it is a big BUT… these institutions all have a full contingent of staffing
already in place. A politician’s “promise”
– or in reality a statement is not something that I could put much faith in.
But
what about the men that are in that prison?
Where will they go?
The
paper today states that there are 400+ inmates in the KP.
I am
not sure of the numbers but I do know that at least half of that number are
some of the most severe, psychological problem people in our country.
How
do I know? I have visited Regional
Treatment Centre at KP. I have been
inside of KP and RTC.
Where
in the world will these people go?
The
politician says that they will go to other prisons in Canada. I think the statement was in the region or
area.
These
prisons are all full now. How can they
move them and to where will that happen?
The
prison guard union reps stated that they do not believe that there is a plan
yet. I tend to think the same. They are worried for their own safety and the
safety of inmates.
The
Millhaven Prison that was built to replace the KP, is full to capacity with KP
still serving as a Maximum Prison.
Canadians
generally have a fairly strong feeling that states simply – NIMBY – not in my backyard!! New prisons will not be built. Old ones will
be added to, is what we have been told by the politician.
I am
involved in watching what happens in our prison.
I
know from my past years of watching the Kingston prison riots were a nightmare
for everyone. Conditions were horrible for the men and staff inside. It was dangerous back then. I became involved as a volunteer to help the
prison system and prisoners inside and outside in 1974… just after the riots
took place. It was not a good time at all!
Things
were changed and new policies were enacted.
But
now there is a great danger that with the lack of facilities that are a problem
now, the closing of a place that houses 400+ people will put a new strain on
everything. That is a real factor to consider.
But
what politicians think and do is all that matters.
Hey
that is the same thing that was happening when the politicians opened KP so
long ago.
Sheesh!
~
Murray Lincoln ~
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