I have heard some crazy things in my time, but few can compare with the comic opera played out in a Mexican prison last Saturday.
According to reports released today, prison guards at Zacatecas Prison stood to one side while 53 inmates walked calmly past them and out the front door. Not one of the guards made any move to stop them.
At least 12 of the escapees are known assassins and kidnappers, members of Mexico's powerful drug cartels. Among the other 41 are rapists and murderers. So far 11 have been described by Interpol as extremely dangerous, and a severe threat to the public world-wide. They must be laughing fit to bust at how easy it was. Not a shot was fired during the entire episode.
The whole sordid scene was captured on the prison's security cameras (see clip) and would do justice to any of the comedy films coming out of Hollywood, all it required was Leslie Nielsen to make an appearance.
Thanks to the video footage, the real nature of the breakout was revealed, and now, the prison governor and the entire night shift of guards are themselves behind bars pending an investigation.
It would seem the drama unfolded with pictures of bored-looking guards watching TV while an inmate walks past them and releases prisoners from a cell block. They make absolutely no moves to stop him, or the released prisoners from walking out.
Meanwhile, outside the prison, a convoy of fake 'Police' vehicles draws up and the gate guards rush to let the 'cops' into the prison. They make no attempt to question the new arrivals and stand aside as they file in.
Eight gunmen, wearing jackets with Federal Police markings, enter the prison and escort the inmates to the waiting cars. All this time the guards are standing on the sidelines watching. The prisoners had also helped themselves from the guards armoury and many were armed.
After the 'police cars' drive off with their passengers, guards can suddenly be seen running to the gate with guns drawn. Reports say they were 'overacting' for the benefit of the cameras.
This whole sordid episode is symptomatic of what is wrong with the penal code in most 'civilized' countries these days. It makes no difference if we talk about Mexico, the USA, Britain, France, Germany or any other western nation, the problems are the same. Prisons have become holiday camps for the worst our societies have produced.
It must be said that in most penal institutions it is the prisoners who run the prison, not the governor or guards. In many English jails, the prisoners are allowed a lot of freedom, because those supposedly running the place think that is the way to head off trouble among the inmates.
Drugs are rife these days, and little, or nothing, is done to stop the flow. It has been reported that in many cases the drugs are brought in by prison personnel themselves, as well as visiting family members.
In Britain, statistics show the majority of prisoners released after serving their sentence go on to re-offend, so what happened to the deterrent? The simple answer is, it doesn't exist any more. A custodial sentence today is a joke, and the ones laughing the hardest are the criminals themselves.
They look upon their sentence as a mere inconvenience, but hey, it's not so bad living in a five star hotel for a couple of years.
The only things they miss are the freedom to move at will, and possibly, sex. But that is not necessarily true because there are alternatives to taking a woman to bed, if you know what I mean. So we are left with the restrictions on freedom.
Good meals, probably better than the wife makes, plenty of games, TV, film shows and libraries all go to make life a little easier for those incarcerated by society. Then there is always the extra curriculum activities as mentioned in the previous paragraph.
When all is considered, not a bad life for a serial killer, crime boss, drug peddler, murderer, rapist or child sex offender!
One of the more ridiculous reports I read some years ago, stated that prisoners would have curtains on the windows to cover up the bars, and so make them feel more at home. Naturally, it was a 'Bleeding Heart Brigade' suggestion. They constantly bleat on about prisoners 'human rights'. So far as I am concerned, if you are a criminal the first thing you lose is the right to be treated like a decent law-abiding citizen.
The Police in most western countries are over-stretched trying to catch the crooks, and when caught, they get a ridiculously short sentence from the courts because the prisons are overcrowded.
It seems to me, all incentive for criminals to straighten themselves out and become honest citizens again, is today none existent.
Years ago they were so afraid of ending up 'back inside,' the majority never turned to crime again.
I think it is time for people to insist on sentences to fit the crime, and to re-introduce things like labour gangs. America has the right idea when it comes to chain-gangs. Make them work for their keep doing useful work for the community, like laying road foundations or digging ditches.
With modern technology I am sure we can make certain no-one escapes, or if they do, that they are captured quickly. Implant them with micro-chip trackers, so if they do manage to slip away it will be easy to locate them.
Whatever measures are taken, control of the prisons must be taken out of the hands of inmates, and the 'softly, softly' approach needs to go out the window. A strict regime must be introduced to ensure discipline in prisons, and that goes for the prison officers as well.
Anyone caught taking drugs into a prison should end up as an inmate, and anyone caught using should receive a mandatory 2 years on their sentence. Drug tests need to be introduced and enforced to ensure compliance.
The courts should ensure that sentences are more proportional to the crime committed, and this business of parole for 'good behaviour' for career criminals needs to be scrapped. Too many hardened criminals have got away with only doing a third of their sentence because they were 'model prisoners'.
Let the justice system put some muscle into the words "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime."
If you wish to view the BBC prison break report and the jail cctv camera footage, please copy and paste the following link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8062789.stm
May you always be free as a bird.
Roy
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