Prison Reform: From Penal Institution to Caring Community

Abstract

This study raises the question to the concept of building the prisons into total institutions in which the inmates are cut off from the outside world. It also raises the question to the use of various methods of disciplinary power such as inspecting, gazing or strict scheduling to impose obedience out of the inmates. The study proposes an alternative to prison reform by changing the power relations between prison officers and inmates from the vertical relationship to a more horizontal one in order to transform the prison into a place where the inmates can spend their time in prison with value and human dignity and build their creative power and inspiration.