Spanish Prison Puts Kids In Jail With Their Parents
Wow…
ARANJUEZ, Spain - Victor Manuel Lozano spends his days like most 2-year-olds. He goes to nursery school, draws, rides a tricycle. The difference is, he does it in prison, living with mom, a convicted murderer, and dad, a drug trafficker.
Aranjuez Prison, Spanish officials say, is the only the one in the world with cells for families. The spacious units, dubbed “five-star cells,” come with cribs, Disney characters on the walls and access to a prison playground.
The idea is for children to bond with their jailed parents while young enough not to fully grasp the reality of prison, and to teach parenting skills to inmates seeking rehabilitation. Some parents have two toddlers in the prison, and the total currently stands at 32.
Neither the prison psychologist nor the parents themselves think it is an ideal situation. But they say it beats the pain of separation.
“They take good care of us, and having my child and husband with me makes me very happy,” said Carmen Garcia, 28, Victor Manuel’s mother. “But this is not the best place to bring up a child. In some ways they are imprisoned too.”
Garcia was jailed in 1998 for 10 years for murdering her boyfriend. Victor Lozano entered the jail the following year for an 11-year term. They met in 2003, were married behind bars and had Victor Manuel.
Keeping kids with their biological parents as much as possible is a good idea, but I’m not sure it remains a good idea in circumstances where both parents are criminals - one a murderer! - and currently incarcerated.
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