Some prisons are as good as your holiday vacation.
Prisons are punishment for misconduct. They are built to maintain order in the society, believing in the premise that getting into prison sucks your privilege to live freely so you wouldn’t want to be there.
These five prisons are still prisons in a way that it locks you out of the “real world”, but there are privileges that would make you rethink which would you prefer to be in.
Photo from grazt.at
What the hell right? People save up for 3 day brief stays in a five star hotel, when these inmates in Justizzentrum Leoben get to stay in a five star facility for years, if not lifetime. The prison is secured, luxurious and modern.
Photo from knowyourmeme.com
They are the inmates in the viral hit “Thriller“, which has 51.5 million views (so far). Instead of burning time inside the cells, they learn a routine, dance in synchrony, and post it to YouTube. Their latest vid? Gangnam style.
Photo from gulfnews.com
Somewhere in Spain, the Aranjuez prison is nice enough to build family unit cells where the prisoners could bond with his/her children. The walls are painted with jolly Disney characters. Playground and nursery are accessible.
Photo from palmer365.com
San Pedro Prison in Bolivia is close to normal. No guards, no gates, no bars. Instead, you’ll see children playing around with “market stalls, restaurants, hairdressers and even a hotel” (Murano, 2009). On top of it all, prisoners have to work and buy their own cells. Like the outside world, the more money you have, the more advantaged your situation will be.
Photo from CNN.com
Inmates in Bastoy Prison will feel like in a holiday, whole year round. They have horses to ride around the island of pine trees and rocky coasts. Craving a baked salmon? They have chefs to cook for them. They even have the beach to dip in summer; and the ocean’s view will always be there if they want to relax. Aaah, imagine the sound of that. Ironically, they have a more free lifestyle inside the prison distant from what they can afford. No surprise that 20% of prisoners who are released reoffend to come back.
Would you approve of these prisons?
Sources:10 of the World’s Most Unusual Prisons; Oddee
Welcome to the world’s nicest prison; CNN
Moment Matters 
Excuse me while I rob a bank or something. Wait, it’s probably for men huh?
This is crazy. I know a few people who are corrections officers in my area. They are disgusted with the amount of things the prisoners get. Cable TV being one of them, but it’s not nearly as nice as these. I agree with Sheriff Joe in Phoenix, AZ. it’s a punishment. The prisoners live in tents, no a/c (yep in Phoenix), no gyms, no tv etc. They even cut back and there are no condiments for on sandwiches (like ketchup or mustard). It costs the least to operate and has the lowest recidivism rate in the country.
Prisoners should be punished. They should work to pay for their accommodations and food, and they should generally be unhappy at all times whilst in jail. Not inhumanely unhappy, obviously, but still, it shouldn’t be a resort. I don’t know if it will make repeat offenders think twice about committing another crime, but at least it won’t cost as much money to keep them locked away.
I’m always torn with things like these. I do believe in rehabilitation but I do believe that in some cases people who go to prison need to realize that they are there because they did something wrong. It bothers to know that some prisoners are being given opportunities that I will never have. In Canada, Karla Holmoka (participated in rapes and murders with her boyfriend in my province) got her degree in psychology for free! FREE!!! I went into debt to get mine and I have never raped or killed someone! That I don’t like. At the same time I am aware that some crime is caused by poverty and I want those people to have a chance at coming out of poverty!
I don’t mind if prisons are 5 stars – so long it rehabilitation works. I don’t think the prisons like Alcatraz has helped anyone. I don’t think the Pilipino prisoners will have a 5* everyday even if they are allowed to dance. I think all prisons here are working for they are set out to do – but we don’t know anything about what kind of prisoners and what type of crime they have committed. We don’t know about their rehabilitation programs. They maybe are perfect in the their true contents.
Next blog what one has to do to get on the list for one of these—especially the Bastoy prison!!! (chuckle)
I know people who work in the prison system in CA. Many prisoners do not get humane treatment especially when it comes to medical attention. Others say that the prisoners are always scamming, they work the system, arrange for crimes to happen on the outside. Most prison workers do not feel safe enough to participate in social media like I am doing right now. Most prisoners are poorly educated, are not very motivated, and have a hard time learning. Criminal behavior will always be with us, human nature being what it is, but there has to be a middle ground between doing nothing for prisoners, and giving them a 5 start residence that draws them back in. Very interesting topic.
This is so interesting, I’m actually laughing I mean no one wants to go to prison but there is definetly no motivation for those in to want to come out, except that prisoner has a really larger view on life. Hope you don’t mind me reblogging it on my blog it is so so funny.
Really interesting post! It’s funny because someone was just telling me about Bastoy prison…the numbers and stats of the LACK of crime in Norway and other such places makes me think that the US should adopt a more humane approach to correcting ill behavior. Great blog!
You know how some people make a goal to visit, say, all the Major League Baseball stadiums in the U.S., or maybe all the places where Elizabeth Taylor was proposed to? I’ve now got my five places to visit … possibly even before the end of this year. Thanks.