Prison fires underline need for reform

摘要

The march 2012 issue of FHM mentions the 1930 penitentiary fire in Ohio, USA, as a result of which 322 prisoners perished, for the purposes of comparison with a much more recent prison fire in Honduras where the death toll was even higher (see News, FHM March 2012, p.5). It is right that, although the Ohio fire is now barely within living memory, awareness of it continues as a reminder of the vulnerability of prison inmates and staff. However, it is equally helpful to note that, as a result of the Ohio fire, thousands of prisoners were granted parole in order to relieve overcrowding in prisons across the US state.