Sri Lanka Church urges major penal reform

(June 22,2010) The Sri Lankan Church has called on the Govt. to make major penal reforms. Stating that the local prisons are in a bad shape, it said conditions must be improved, inmates must have proper justice and their rights must be respected. Fair trials for former Tamil Tiger rebels, religious programs, psychological counselling and abolition of the death penalty were some of the highlights of the recent meeting between members of the prison apostolate and D. E. W. Gunasekera, the minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reform. The meeting organized to address major concerns over Sri Lanka’s penal system, was held at the residence of Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo and chaired by him.
“No one was born a criminal, society made them criminals,” Father Mervyn Noel Fernando, chaplain of the Prison Apostolate told Minister Gunasekera. The priest said the Church body asked for religious programs on a daily basis, speedy trials for LTTE suspects, psychological counselling and for the death penalty to be replaced by prison sentences. It called for better food, recommended meditation programs, religious counselling irrespective of religious affiliation, useful education programs and vocational training. “All prison officers should be given some basic knowledge and training to help them rehabilitate,” Father Fernando told the Minister. He also pointed out that all Catholic chapels in prisons are in need of repair, and suggested the possibility of releasing inmates over 70 years of age.