Under the criminal justice system there are theories of punishments and all is aimed at making sure that the criminal is made to understand that what he or she did is wrong and the society frowns at it and condemns it in totality but when the prison which is a place set aside for criminals or alleged criminals awaiting trials to be kept until there innocence are proven or they serve their punishment term or granted pardon by the state is turned to a fun Centre then the whole aim of the prison system as a correctional and rehabilitation center is been made mockery of.
There are eight known theories of punishment that have been popularized today:
- Deterrent Theory of Punishment
- Retributive Theory of Punishment
- Preventive Theory of Punishment
- Reformative Theory of Punishment
- Expiatory or Compensatory Theory of Punishment
- Incapacitation Theory of Punishment
- Utilitarian Theory of Punishment
- Multiple Approach Theory
None of these theories of punishment advocated that the prison should be turned to a fun Centre while trying to correct, rehabilitate or punish an offender. Even positive theorists never contemplated that. All the theories advocate for correction, rehabilitation, punishment and deterrence.
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The kirikiri prison crowning Miss Chidinma Ojukwu whose case is a popular one with a lot of public and media attention can only be said to be an intentional ploy by the prison wardens/staff to spike the families, friends and loved ones of the late Micheal Ataga who was alleged to have been killed by the Chidinma, the prisoner. How will the children of the late man feel seeing the alleged killer of their father having fun in prison, looking well fed, properly kept with a glowing skin and being crowned the Miss Prison, 2022. This is totally distasteful.
We should ask ourselves some basic questions to totally understand the havoc the miss cell pageantry may cause:
Do the inmates have any sense of guilt or feel any atom of remorse in prison for the crime they are being punished for while the prison staff engage them in the social activities and crown them for beauty pageantry?
Does society feel relieved that the criminals are getting punished for their misdeeds?
Do prospective criminals get deterred from committing similar crimes in order not to end up facing the same punishment; rather, with the miss cell pageantry show, the prison circle is painted so glamorous that criminals would do anything just to end up there and have some fun too.
Don’t you all see that the whole intent of prison has been ridiculed with this whole Miss prison pageantry public show?
This is a wake up call for the government to do something about this, prisons should never be made to appear appealing to the general public, if not that will be a huge risk as it will encourage prospective criminals; rather prison should be made to appear as a place that no one would ever wish to end up. The Miss Cell pageantry made a mockery of the whole reason for the prison system as a correctional and rehabilitation facility.
A prison is a place for punishment for wrong and rehabilitation and not for fun and merriments.