http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/current_affairs/1372
Sabina Ahmed
The report on the killing of Zahid Mubarek was published yesterday. It is a litany of failures in the prison system, 188 listed in all, which led to Zahid's death. The report is a devastating indictment of the prison service, both individual and systemic. But the outcry and the emphasis will be on that subject as the report is dissected and doled out for public consumption. But there are other failings in the prison system which were a contributory factor in this tragedy. There are people locked up in them who are mentally ill and should be in mental institutions. The closing of mental hospitals and creating care in the community has not been very successful. People with personality disorders and psychotic symptoms are left in the community to fend for themselves. When they commit crimes, they are locked up in prison where the staff is not trained to look after them."
