What is a Prison and Why Do We Have Them?

Prisons are places where people are sent when they break serious laws. The main idea is to keep people who have committed crimes away from society and to give them a chance to change their ways.

Some prisons are safe and focused on helping people improve, but others are known for being extremely dangerous. In the world’s deadliest prisons, life can be so hard that even the guards worry about their safety.

These places are overcrowded, violent, and often lack basic needs like food and medical care. Let’s find out more about these terrifying places.

Why Do Some Prisons Become So Dangerous?

Not all prisons are built to be dangerous. Many are designed to help people become better citizens. But when prisons become overcrowded, underfunded, or poorly managed, things can go terribly wrong.

In some countries, prisoners even control parts of the prison themselves! This leads to gang wars, smuggling of illegal items, and even riots.

Sadly, in some places, prisoners are packed into small spaces with little food, dirty water, and no medical help. Imagine sharing a tiny room with 50 other people — scary, right?

La Sabaneta Prison – Venezuela

La Sabaneta was once known as one of the most violent prisons in South America. The prison was designed to hold around 700 prisoners, but at times it had over 3,700 inmates!

There were very few guards, so prisoners often took charge themselves. Gangs ruled the prison, and fights broke out daily. Weapons were easy to find, and many prisoners made their own out of metal scraps.

It was so chaotic that even the guards stayed out of certain areas. In 2013, after years of violence, the government finally closed La Sabaneta.

Black Dolphin Prison – Russia

Black Dolphin Prison is one of Russia’s toughest prisons. It holds the country’s most dangerous criminals, including murderers and terrorists. Prisoners here are treated very strictly.

They are blindfolded when moved around and forced to walk bent over so they can’t see the layout of the prison. Guards search cells every hour, and inmates are never left alone.

The cells have iron bars not only on the doors but also on the windows and even inside the rooms. This place is like something from a spy movie, but for the prisoners, it’s very real.

ADX Florence – United States

Known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” ADX Florence is the most secure prison in America. It holds criminals who are considered too dangerous for other prisons. Inmates are kept alone in their cells for 23 hours a day, with only one hour allowed outside in a tiny cage.

The prison is designed so inmates barely interact with others. Some prisoners have compared it to living in a tomb. Although it is very safe for guards, prisoners often suffer from loneliness and mental health problems because of the extreme isolation.

Diyarbakir Prison – Turkey

Diyarbakir Prison has a reputation for being harsh, especially during the 1980s. Prisoners, including children, were treated very badly and were often punished severely.

Overcrowding and poor living conditions made life unbearable. Inmates often didn’t get enough food or clean water. Although there have been some improvements in recent years, it is still remembered as one of the worst prisons in history.

The stories that came out of Diyarbakir are chilling and a reminder of how important human rights are.

Carandiru Penitentiary – Brazil

Carandiru was once the biggest prison in Latin America, located in São Paulo, Brazil. In 1992, it became world-famous when a riot broke out, and police responded with extreme force, leading to the deaths of 111 prisoners.

Carandiru was known for its overcrowded conditions, diseases, and gang violence. The prisoners had very little medical care, and many died from illnesses. In 2002,

Carandiru was finally closed, but its dark history remains a warning about how prisons can go wrong.

Tadmor Prison – Syria

Tadmor Prison was known for being one of the cruellest prisons in the world. It was originally built by the French and later used by Syrian governments for political prisoners and anyone who opposed the rulers.

Prisoners lived in fear every single day, and many did not survive their sentences. Reports told of torture, starvation, and unfair punishments. Tadmor became a symbol of fear until it was destroyed in 2015 during Syria’s civil war.

Rikers Island – United States

Rikers Island is New York City’s main jail complex and has often been in the news for violence, corruption, and poor living conditions.

It is not just the prisoners who are at risk — even the guards often find themselves in dangerous situations. Over the years, there have been shocking stories of fights, gangs, and people being hurt.

The city has plans to close Rikers Island by 2027, hoping to replace it with smaller, safer facilities.

Bang Kwang Central Prison – Thailand

Nicknamed the “Bangkok Hilton,” Bang Kwang is one of the most feared prisons in Asia. Many of its prisoners are serving long sentences or are on death row. Life inside Bang Kwang is very tough.

Prisoners are often locked up for most of the day, with poor food, little medical care, and overcrowding making life hard. For a long time, new prisoners even had to wear chains on their legs!

Today, some conditions have improved, but it is still a terrifying place for anyone unlucky enough to end up there.

Kresty Prison – Russia

Kresty Prison is one of the oldest prisons in Russia, famous for its extreme overcrowding. Built to hold 1,150 prisoners, at one point it was crammed with more than 10,000 inmates!

Prisoners were stuffed into tiny cells, barely able to move, with little food and poor hygiene. The prison became so overcrowded that prisoners had to take turns sleeping! In recent years, some prisoners were moved to other prisons, but Kresty’s past still makes it one of the most notorious prisons in the world.

The Dangers Inside the World’s Deadliest Prisons

So, what makes these prisons the deadliest? It’s not just the scary prisoners — it’s the lack of proper management, too many people squeezed into small spaces, poor food and water, and little medical care.

In some cases, prisoners are left to run things themselves, which leads to violence, fear, and even death. These prisons show what can happen when rules break down and people are left to survive on their own.

Are All Prisons This Scary?

Thankfully, no! Many prisons around the world work hard to keep people safe and help them improve their lives.

There are prisons focused on education, counselling, and giving people a second chance. These places try to help prisoners return to the world as better people.

The scary prisons we learned about today are extreme cases and are often criticised by human rights groups.

A Final Thought

Learning about the world’s 10 deadliest prisons might sound like something from a horror movie, but it teaches us an important lesson: people everywhere deserve fair treatment, even when they have done wrong.

Prisons should help people become better, not make things worse. So next time you hear about a prison on the news, think about how different they can be, from helpful to horrifying.

What Do You Remember?

1. What is the main purpose of a prison?

2. Why do some prisons become dangerous?

3. What is unusual about the way prisoners are moved in Black Dolphin Prison?

4. What happened during the 1992 Carandiru riot?

5. Name one thing that makes ADX Florence different from most prisons.

Write your answers in the comment section below.

Related Topics
If you found this topic interesting, you might want to learn more about how prisons work, the history of famous escapes, or how countries are trying to improve their prison systems today. You could also explore stories about how people have turned their lives around after being in prison.

Learn more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence

What Do You Think?

If you found this to be an interesting topic, why not have your say. Or if you can think of ways we could improve it. We would love to know what you learned and more importantly, what you think. So now is your chance, use the comments section below to let us know your thoughts.