Prisoners across Canada are punished for the crimes that they commit by being locked in a cell & having restricted communication with their friends and family. This is understandable since prison is supposed to discourage people from committing crimes by being a harsh dose of reality. But should they be banned from watching pornography? Being trapped behind bars for years without being able to touch or feel any love from the opposite sex takes its toll on everyone. So it comes to no surprise that prisoners in Quebec devised a way to access porn in prison. This caused a vicious legal battle between prisoners and prison wardens for the right to watch their favorite late night channels.
Attempting to beat the system a group of ingenious inmates at the Archambault Prison collected money to get access to cable TV. The highlight of this purchase was the late night pornographic channels offered after 11 pm. This gave prisoners a healthy way to release their massive sex drive and enjoy themselves for a few minutes. In 2013 the prison cut off access to these exotic channels and all hell broke loose. Inmate Haris Naraine filed a grievance that went all the way to the federal court, and even got approved by the judge. Even though the federal judge ruled that it was illegal for prisons to block inmates from viewing their favorite channels, prison authorities still vow to restrict access to these films. Quebec’s public security minister Lise Theriault stated that she was “horrified” to learn that prisoners could enjoy pornography and vowed to install parental controls on prison TVs. But what is more horrifying; prisoners masturbating to porn or our prison officials’ passion for stripping away any hope from prisoners?
Since prisoners are forced to live a sexually deprived lifestyle this leads to an immense amount of pent up hormones. This build up ignites rampant aggression that can quickly escalate into acts of violence. People are now starting to argue that access to porn could combat prison rape and give inmates some much needed motivation to improve their behavior to maintain access to these channels. After all the human sex drive is one of the most basic human instincts that we all share. The real crime is oppressing people to the point of madness and then expecting them to be able to seamlessly integrate back into society when they are released. We need to take a good look in the mirror and realize that we are not perfect & one bad decision can put any of us in prison. Prisoners are more than statistics, they are people who made poor choices and are paying for it with their freedom. The only way to promote true rehabilitation is by not crushing their souls by repressing the basic instincts that make us human.
