WELL DONE, ROYALHOUSE CHAPEL

Page 7: Daily Graphic, March 6, 2012. THE expectation of society is that persons who come out of our prisons and other remand centres become transformed individuals so that they can be successfully reintegrated into our communities. Regrettably, that has not always been the case. There have been countless occasions when ex-convicts have been re-arrested and sent back to jail for same offences or other serious offences. That alone tells us that the convicts were not reformed. We have also had instances when some convicts have also picked up bad traits in prison, while others who felt they were incarcerated unjustifiably have come out more bitter and antagonised, seeking to take revenge on their perceived enemies. Sociologists have argued that no one is born a criminal but that society makes people so. Unfortunately, society has also failed to assist to reform the very criminals and deviants it has created. Most of the time, our reform centres, including the prisons, have turned out to be breeding grounds for hardened criminals through no fault of theirs. Most of these centres do not have the requisite personnel nor facilities to train the inmates to come out better. Providing the basic necessities of life for inmates of our prisons continues to be a challenge. This has often led to a number of organisations providing support for the institutions, while religious organisations take up the additional task of providing the spiritual needs of the people. It is for this reason that the Daily Graphic commends the leadership of the Royalhouse Chapel International for its initiative in setting up the School of Restoration to help deviants re-build their lives and reintegrate them into society. We believe the courses and programmes the participants go through are very relevant to their reintegration into society, for which reason the authorities at our penal homes must review their programmes. Some of the convicts are sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour, but beyond the hard labour, the inmates have lives to live after prison. It is also a fact that some of the convicts or those who find themselves in remand homes get there through trump-up charges. Such persons will certainly come out more bitter and desirous of paying back those they suspect facilitated their journey into the prisons or remand homes. There are others who, through acquaintances at the prisons, come out more hardened in thought and in deed. The Daily Graphic thinks it is about time the nation began to revisit the entire penal system to ensure that ex-convicts and deviants come out of prison with a positive outlook about themselves and society. That requires that the personnel who are posted to the prisons and other reform centres have the requisite qualifications and training to undertake programmes that will change the inmates for the better. We urge the Royalhouse Chapel to step up its programme of restoration and hope to ex-convicts who also have a contribution to make towards nation-building. The story of the graduands of the School of Restoration can be one of pain and hope, but just as Rev Mrs Rita Korankye-Ankrah said, “The public must give such people the needed support and room to change and improve upon their lives.”