ARANJUEZ: Spain's `Five-star' Prison for Families

HUMANE PRISON
 “Severe punishments, badly
maintained cells, not a good food
without any taste - this is the
experience one goes through in a
prison and the purpose is to make
them realize and reform during
INTRODUCTION their period in Jail and ensure that
they do not want to come again to
ARANJUEZ HUMANE PRISON
the doors of the Jail premises”.

But to our surprise we found luxurious prison

across the Countries that compete with a Five-
Star hotel and rehabilitation programs.
 ARANJUEZ PRISON:

When the husband or the Wife gets indicted

of some felony, the most affected person
will be the children who are left behind or
taken care of by single parent. If both
parents are imprisoned then the child will
be homeless and alone.

But not if the crime is committed in

INTRODUCTION Aranjuez, Spain the parents can share
their life as normals in the
ARANJUEZ HUMANE PRISON dormitories of the prison. For
parents, this one is the best as the
children will be around you with your
partner - the only condition in the
prison is that everyone should attend
the roll call in the morning and
evening.

The prison in this town 25 miles south

of Madrid began operating family cells
in 1998 and now has 36.
 The jail has 36 cell units for families, but
the children can only stay until age
three. After that they are taken away
and put with relatives or with social
services.

The idea is for children to bond with

their imprisoned parents while young
enough not to fully grasp the reality of
incarceration, and for inmates seeking
rehabilitation to learn parenting skills.

Discussion At dawn a guard wakes the family up for

roll call. At night, after a day playing
with other inmates' children in a yard,
Victor Manuel is locked up again.
Sometimes he stands outside the cell
crying because he does not want to go
back behind the bars.
 The prison in this town 40km
south of Madrid has 36 cell units
for families, although now only 16
are occupied, most with Latin
Americans. The children can only
stay until age three. After that
they are taken away and put with
relatives or with social services,
Discussion and their parents go back to
regular cells.
 It is a room of 14m2, its walls
crowded with pictures of
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck
and family photos. There is a
double bed, a crib full of toys, a
Discussion small bathroom and windows
facing outside prison.
 That comfort, says prison
psychologist Maria Yela,
creates room for cheating.
Many women with a child
about to turn three try to get
Discussion pregnant to be able to stay
in the family cells, she said.
 All candidates have to
pass a two-month
observation period to
prove they are prepared
to live together as
couples and raise a
Discussion child. Sex offenders are
ruled out.
 The Aranjuez prison
provides comfort to the
prisoners. They spend
they prison life with
their families especially
with their children, but
this kind of environment
is not healthy for
Conclusion children. Early exposure
to prison is not healthy
for children especially to
infants especially in
developing their values.
 The offenders may also
have the difficulty to repent
from the crime that they
committed. In their case,
committing crimes could be
normalize as though they
committed one, they can
still have a comfortable life
with their loved ones
Conclusion compared to those who
were put to cell and given
punishments that would
allow them to repent and
realize the weight of their
 Since children would stay with
their parents in the cell, it
would be best if children would
stay only up until they turn 10
years old, so that they have an
understanding of why they need
to be separated with their
parents.
Recommendation
Provide a more strict process
and qualification to be put in
this kind of luxurious cell.