Rainy Night in Georgia: Managing Change in the Conditions of Confinement

• NCJ Number: 216274
• Journal: Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 56-60
• Author(s): Stephen A. Carter
• Date Published: October 2006
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the conditions in the Republic of Georgia’s prison system and presents the recommendations for prison reform from three advisors who reviewed Georgia’s largest prison.

Abstract

The Republic of Georgia’s prison system has suffered from years of neglect and scarce resources and now represents some of the most deplorable conditions of confinement found in the world. In late 2005, the European Commission began advising Georgia’s Ministry of Justice on the establishment of a probation system and on the proposed design of a prototype prison for Tbilisi, the capital. A group of three advisors traveled to Tbilisi to view and make reform recommendations for the current Tbilisi prison. The author, who was one of the advisors, recalls the conditions of confinement in the Tbilisi prison, which included packing 60 to 64 inmates into a 400-square-foot room with 1 toilet, 14 bunks, 1 shower, and 1 light. Inmates who were not sleeping in bunks were forced to stand because there was no room to even sit down. The conditions were so deplorable that the advisors recommended completely abandoning the facility by the end of 2006 and making other living arrangements for inmates until new and reformed prisons could be constructed. The recommendations included long-term planning and design advice as well as short-term advice on how to manage the inmates during the process of shutting down the prison. Short-term recommendations included the advice to reallocate prison staff duties to allow inmates more out-of-cell time and the advice to begin a workshop program for inmates to further increase out-of-cell time. Long-term design and planning recommendations included the advice to declare prison reform a national priority and to enlist international support and appoint a consulting project manager to the reform efforts. While the conditions at the prison were inhumane, the advisors noted that many of the Ministry of Justice staff had good intentions and were willing and able to institute reforms.