Senate Unanimously Approves Mexico Prison Reforms, But Will That be Enough? Mike LaSusa - InSight Crime
go to original May 2, 2016

Police officers conducting a search in the Topo Chico Prison in Monterrey (Government of Monterrey)

Mexico's senate has unanimously approved a wide-ranging prison reform bill, but it's unclear if these measures will be enough to revamp a penitentiary system badly in need of improvement.

Last week, by a vote of 114 to zero, the senate passed the National Penal Enforcement Law (Ley Nacional de Ejecución Penal), which will now head to the chamber of deputies for final approval.

The head of the senate justice committee, Fernando Yunes Márquez, said the legislation would ensure that Mexico's prisons "will no longer be nests of violations of the rights that our constitution guarantees."

The bill prohibits the use of torture and other "cruel, inhuman or degrading" disciplinary measures, including confinement in cells without light and ventilation. It also bans the use of solitary confinement for more than 15 continuous days.

In addition, the legislation establishes gender-specific rights for incarcerated women, including the right to receive obstetrical-gynecological and pediatric care, as well as adequate and healthy food for their children if they remain with their mothers in prison.

The bill also grants immediate eligibility for release to non-violent offenders convicted of possessing less than five kilograms of cannabis, as well as those convicted of stealing less than the equivalent of 80 minimum salaries (roughly 5,800 pesos, or about US$340).

If the bill becomes law, prison authorities will have four years to implement the reforms.

...Although the prison reform measures appear to represent a step toward improving Mexico's notoriously troubled penal system, several senators expressed concern that the provisions will prove difficult to implement.

At the same time, the bill's unanimous passage in the senate suggests a widespread recognition of the failings of the current prison system.

Read the rest at InSight Crime

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