Gitarama Central Prison Analysis

Prison conditions are worsening all across the world, especially within African countries, such as Rwanda. Rwandan prisons have an unhealthy environment — lack of space, mistreatment, and neglect — for the inmates that are locked up. The effects of the destructive conditions that inmates experience range in severity, from infected feet to death. In addition, these problems are not recent occurrences; these complications have been around for over 20 years. By looking at this issue from an ethical standpoint, it is shown that a solution is needed to improve these deteriorating conditions regarding Rwandan prisons — specifically the Gitarama Central Prison.
The Gitarama Central Prison located in Gitarama, Rwanda, is labeled the most abusive prison in the world (Orr). This label has been given due to the numerous issues going on inside the prison. First of all, 7,000 inmates are currently being held in the prison that was built to have a capacity of only 500 people, and the …show more content…
The first thing that needs to be done to stunt the growth of unbearable prison conditions is that new prisons should be constructed. The lack of space is of main concern for prisons in Rwanda and, “The situation is even more worrying in that, since 1994, Rwanda has not built a single new prison” (Bessis). While one can argue building new prisons is costly, it will serve a long term benefit because it will allow inmates to have more space. By increasing the amount of given space, inmates will be able to have more space to themselves, allowing them to sit down, which will remove pressure from their feet. In turn, this will decrease the risk of contracting an infection on the feet, already making the stay in prison more bearable. Building new prisons in Rwanda has not been acknowledged to be an effective solution because it has yet to be