Prison reforms

In any attempt to reform the criminal justice system, the issues of prison reform and undertrials cannot be glossed over (Editorial – “ >Time to decongest our prisons ”, Oct.15). Prison infrastructure in India is in a shambles and most undertrials languish because of poor legal aid. It is not an exaggeration to say that most of our prisons are as horrific as Brazil’s Carandiru Penitentiary which at one time had 8,000 prisoners in a building meant for 3,000. Let’s hope our prisons become reformation centres in the truest sense of the word.

Rakesh Chourasia,

Hyderabad