The Russian prison system makes the American prison system look like a country club for the rich and famous. In Russia, prisoners suffer, either from lack of good food or lack of basic medical care. Diseases kill hundreds of Russian prisoners every year, but after the death of former lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instituted a drive to make some much-needed prison reforms in Russia, starting with better medical care and conditions within the prison. Inmates at Russia’s infamous Butyrka Prison are getting internet access, better medical care, and even tanning beds.
“A sunbed is not a priority need. This looks like some kind of joke,” said Russian penal system expert Zoya Svetova. “The first thing they need to do is switch on the hot water. They [prison officials] explain that there are 20 inmates to a cell – there used to be more – and that if everyone started using the hot water, the place would get flooded and the place would collapse.”
Of course, tanning beds do have medical uses. For one, they treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD, AKA seasonal depression), but besides that they also treat psoriasis and eczema, both of which I imagine are huge problems in prisons throughout the world. Still, sunbeds are lower in priority than penicillin and hot water.
Tags: prison adds tanning beds, tanning beds for prisoners, medical tanning beds, Butyrka prison, Moscow, Russia, Zoya Svetova, world’s most notorious prisons, Sergei Magnitsky, Dmitry Medvedev, prison reform, prison medical care reform, unusual prison reforms, medical news
