The penitentiary is the strictest form of imprisonment: the daily lives of prisoners sentenced to prison are under constant control and control. In addition, even at the strictest level of execution, there are many opportunities provided so that they can spend their time usefully and have a greater chance of returning to society after their release.
Textbook, gift item and photo
As our paper also reported, the former owner of Nap TV was recently sentenced to seven years in prison in the case of the Fenyő murder: according to the Metropolitan Court of First Instance, although it was Tamás Portik’s idea to execute János Fenyő, Gyárfás agreed to it.
The sentence is not final, but if it becomes final at the second instance, Gyárfás will be released after serving four-fifths of his sentence at the earliest, that is, he would have to serve about five and a half years in any case.
Despite the seriousness of the case, the former president of the Hungarian Swimming Association can await his sentence at liberty in his own home, and he only has to report to the designated police station once a week.
Gyárfás, who will soon turn 75, will be well over eighty by the time he can leave prison – if the court of second instance also sentences him to prison. According to the currently valid legislation, you will not need to pack it in a suitcase, because you can only keep a few things with you in your cell, such as your textbook, souvenirs and family photos.
In addition to looking at family photos, recalling the past and reading, Gyárfás will also be able to participate in various reintegration programs to help him “reintegrate into society”.
– In order to achieve this goal, we place great emphasis on convicts’ education, on maintaining and developing their self-esteem and sense of responsibility, and on developing a sense of social usefulness. In addition, rehabilitation and psychological support are available to convicts, which can help them avoid crime and successfully reintegrate into society, said György Makula, head of communications at the National Penitentiary Command, who spoke to our newspaper in general about reintegration programs. The commander added that special attention is paid to elderly convicts.
Special needs
According to his information, the number of elderly prisoners in Hungary cannot be called high, neither compared to foreign numbers nor to the age distribution of the entire population. – In the last five years, roughly ten percent of the Hungarian prison population was made up of people over the age of 65, which means 1,500-1,600 people. Among the crimes committed by convicts over the age of 65, there is no one that is overrepresented, they are serving their sentences for crimes against property, but also for crimes against life explained the commander.
In the prisons of our country, the so-called department for elderly prisoners operates, where the bv. its employees prioritize the “special needs” of people over 65.
– After reaching the age of 60-65, physical and mental changes may begin or their intensity may increase. Being in prison itself is a higher level of trauma for elderly convicts, however, adaptation to the conditions of placement, loss of the usual environment, and diseases characteristic of different ages are the main areas of treatment. Dealing with the elderly primarily requires extreme patience and a high degree of tolerance – György Makula opined, highlighting that the company in institutes, the development of procedural schemes related to elderly persons is of particular importance: health care within the institute means 24-hour service, so the medical background is comprehensive.
As for the work, the commander said, its type is influenced by the convict’s degree of execution, state of health, professional experience, and security group, depending on the possibilities of the institute and its economic companies. – Older prisoners in Hungarian prisons are usually provided with easier jobs or activities that suit their state of health. Prisons try to provide older inmates with work that not only gives them something to do, but also helps them reintegrate into society and spend their time in prison usefully, he emphasized.
Conversion has a different message here
One of the key aspects of reintegration is the provision of religious life in prisons, which is helped by the involvement of prison chaplains. Formerly for the Hungarian Nation a prison chaplain he stated that these occasions are very necessary, because it is not enough for “healing” in itself for someone to confess his guilt or accept his sentence.
– Legal retaliation is clearly needed, but that is not what is useful. There is only one thing that affects people here: love, said Krisztina Vári, who says that you never know who is going to say what in the service.
According to the chaplain’s view, the point is not always the practice of religion, but that everything that may have never been expressed in them come to the surface, because the terms grace or conversion here have a completely different message.
“I am not here to educate theologians or read stories about saints and explain miracles, but to bring faith into their lives,” said the pastor.