Flowers at the prison

Abstract

A prison setting is no playing field. We can call it a Correctional Facility till we turn blue in the face but the truth is that that some 560 individuals, some of whom are hardened criminals, definitely not the bonbon of characters, are locked up in one massive complex at Paola, delimited by rock-solid walls, barbed wire, watch towers and security personnel. In Malta, the reality of containing such an outsized crowd is further complicated, and in a way it is even more terrifying because we have only one jail (except for the forensic ward at Mt Carmel Hospital and the youth section in Mtaħleb) . Other than that, whoever has a prison sentence or is awaiting trial is in this unsightly compound we dare to refer to as the 'Corradino Correctional Facility'.