＂Decoding＂ the management of felons in Jianyang Prison, Fujian Province： Building a Bridge of Family Relations and Increasing Labor Remuneration

At the scene of family help and education, the family members advised the prisoners: "Make a good transformation, we will wait for you to go home." Photo courtesy of Jianyang Prison

For prison police, how to manage and reform felons is definitely a "headache": they have been detained for a long time, their mood fluctuates greatly, they give up on themselves in the middle of serving their sentences, they often have suicidal thoughts, and even try their best to escape …

In the northern part of Fujian, there is such a special prison. Among thousands of criminals detained, the proportion of criminals whose original judgment is indefinite and whose death sentence is suspended is as high as 67%. Since 1980s, it has been the prison with the highest proportion of felons in Fujian Province.

This prison is Jianyang prison.

After the Criminal Law Amendment (VIII) and the new provisions of the Supreme Law on commutation and parole were promulgated, the frequency and extent of commutation were reduced accordingly, and more felons had to spend the rest of their lives in prison. The police in Jianyang Prison were facing new management challenges.

"Commutation was once the biggest motivation for criminals to reform. After the new regulations were adjusted, we need to let them find a new head in the high wall." Gao Qiuhua, director of Jianyang Prison, told The Paper, "In the new management period, the prison has adopted a series of measures such as family support and education, increasing labor remuneration, and introducing social resources to help and teach, so that felons can see hope in despair and confess their sins and repent while obeying discipline."

"Make a good transformation and come to see you on your 90th birthday."

I learned that my son Lin Cheng (pseudonym) had to spend at least 30 years in prison. After visiting the prison at the end of 2011, 79-year-old Wu Xiumei (pseudonym) left a sentence, "I am old, I can’t walk, and I can’t come to see you in the future. You should take care of yourself."

This sentence also disillusioned the 41-year-old Lin Cheng’s only inner sustenance, and muddling along and living negatively became his attitude towards life in prison. Previously, he was sentenced to death with a suspended sentence for robbery and murder, and was taken to Jianyang prison in September 2011.

For Lin Cheng when he first entered the prison, Yang Kaifeng, the head of the third prison area of Jianyang Prison, is still impressed. "The initiative of transformation is poor, and he soon became a backward element in the transformation of the sub-supervision area." Yang Kaifeng told The Paper that the police had educated him many times, but he was indifferent. He replied that "my sentence is longer than my life, so it doesn’t matter".

After many studies and analysis by the police in the prison area, it is considered that it is possible to influence and reform Lin Cheng through the way of family support and education. Later, Yang Kaifeng called Lin Cheng’s mother, Wu Xiumei, many times and invited her to meet with him if she had the conditions, so as to help her son correct his attitude and rebuild his confidence in the reform.

Perhaps moved by the prison’s spirit of helping and teaching, Wu Xiumei promised Lin Cheng "if you can make a good transformation, I will come to see you if my physical conditions permit."

With his mother’s promise, Lin Cheng, like a "changed person", began to actively cooperate with the reform of the prison and worked hard. "My mother is over 80 years old, and I don’t know if there is any chance to meet again." This sentence is also often hung on Lin Cheng’s lips.

In April 2018, Jianyang Prison decided to hold a special family education meeting on the eve of Mother’s Day. Lin Cheng, who had performed well before, was qualified to meet his family. Lin Cheng’s mother, Wu Xiumei, also promised to attend the help-and-education meeting.

Holding the flowers sent by Lin Cheng and the insoles made by himself, enjoying his son’s unskilled rubbing his shoulders and combing his hair, Wu Xiumei’s eyes filled with tears: "My son will make a good transformation, and I will come to see you when my 90th birthday comes." Lin Cheng, who was on the side, nodded his promise firmly with tears.

Kou Lixin, deputy director of Jianyang Prison, who is in charge of education and reform, said that since the 1980s, Jianyang Prison has become the main prison in Fujian Province for holding life imprisonment, death penalty suspended for two years and other felons. Among the thousands of criminals currently in custody, 67% are sentenced to death with a suspended sentence or life.

Compared with short-term criminals, the management of heavy criminals is much more difficult. Kou Lixin said that after entering the prison, most felons showed pessimism and despair, and their thoughts were decadent.

"Many people think that the prison term is longer than life, and they can’t see the hope and experience the significance of labor reform. Some old, weak and sick criminals feel that they will end up in prison. Even if they can leave prison after serving their sentences, how to integrate into society is a big problem." Yan Lixin said.

"We believe that in the new situation, in addition to reducing the sentence, felons should also be shown another direction, be able to plead guilty and repent, know the law and abide by the law, and at the same time see their own value and find new hope." Yan Lixin said.

In Jianyang Prison, a prisoner comforted his daughter: "Don’t cry, son, I will go home with you as soon as possible." Photo courtesy of Jianyang Prison

Limit the remuneration of prisoners in prison for three children to go to school.

Amendment (8) of the Criminal Law stipulates that the people’s court may, according to the circumstances of the crime, limit and reduce the sentence of recidivists sentenced to death with a suspended execution and criminals sentenced to death with a suspended execution for intentional homicide. If the suspended execution period is reduced to life imprisonment according to law, the execution term shall not be less than 25 years; if the suspended execution period is reduced to 25 years, the execution term shall not be less than 20 years.

Kou Lixin introduced that in prison, criminals who are restricted from reducing their sentences (referred to as "restricted criminals") are "felons" among felons, and generally serve their sentences for more than 30 years. Most of the criminals sentenced to this penalty have committed serious violent crimes or committed violent crimes many times. Many of them are pessimistic and disappointed about their future, and their psychology is seriously distorted, and their resistance to reform is particularly serious.

Such a special group, some minor contradictions may lead to huge conflicts, and it is very difficult to manage and educate well to limit and reduce crimes. This is also a difficult problem for prison management in the new period.

"When commutation is no longer the main driving force for their efforts to reform, our help and education work is to guide them to see hope from despair." Kou Lixin said that Jianyang Prison has launched new measures such as building a bridge of family ties and increasing labor remuneration in response to the reduction of prisoners.

In Jianyang Prison, the income from labor remuneration of prisoners with reduced sentences can be up to 30% higher than that of ordinary prisoners. Apart from daily expenses, the savings left after work will be more and more, which makes some prisoners with reduced sentences have the opportunity to feed their families. Liu Peng (a pseudonym), who served his sentence in the first ward of Jianyang Prison, is a successful example.

Liu Peng, from Mengxian County, Anhui Province, was given a suspended death sentence with limited commutation for committing robbery. After Liu Peng entered the prison in 2014, she was desperate for her life. The only thing she cared about was her unemployed wife and three underage children. In this family living on subsistence allowances, the tuition and living expenses of three children are big problems.

Under the guidance of the prison police, Liu Peng learned about the preferential labor remuneration policy for restricted criminals, which aroused his enthusiasm for work: "I used to do well in prison, but I can also help my family." After that, Liu Peng began to scrimp and save, and labor was also proactive.

In the past two years, with the approval of the prison leaders, Liu Peng remitted money to his home twice, the first time was 6,800 yuan, and the second time was 6,500 yuan. He began to realize that in prison, as long as he confessed and repented and actively reformed, he could also assume some family responsibilities.

"For this poor family, it is undoubtedly a huge sum." Kou Lixin said that now the three children in Liu Peng’s family have gone to school normally, their lives have gradually improved, and Liu Peng’s enthusiasm for reform is even higher.

A phone call across two prisons

On March 12, 2016, Mao Heng (pseudonym), who had been in isolation and strict management for nearly three months, was suddenly taken to the conversation room of the strict management team. The police said to him, "Pick up the phone."

To his surprise and surprise, there was a familiar and kind voice from his wife who had not seen each other for six years and was serving her sentence in a women’s prison. Tears could not help falling …

Tong Liang, the warden of the restricted prison, said that Mao Heng was sent to Jianyang Prison for reform in May 2013 because he was sentenced to a two-year suspension of execution and restricted commutation. After entering the prison, he repeatedly made negative reforms under the pretext of heart discomfort, and repeatedly violated prison regulations, and was classified as a stubborn and dangerous criminal (the prisoners who reformed negatively and were extremely dangerous, even against the police, were called "stubborn and dangerous criminals").

The leaders of the prison attached great importance to Mao Heng’s help and education, and talked with him many times, but never achieved the expected results. "His state at that time was like a beast. As long as he was released, he would bite at any time."

In the Spring Festival of 2016, Mao Heng suddenly expressed his mistake to the police of the strict management team, saying "surrender" and demanding that the isolation and strict management be lifted. When the leader of the prison talked with him, he tried every means to excuse him and didn’t admit his mistake. After that, he shouted in the dead of night and even hurt himself.

"The transformation methods for stubborn and dangerous criminals should be diverse, and it is necessary to teach students according to their needs, so as to find a breakthrough in transformation." Gao Qiuhua, director of Jianyang Prison, said.

The rectification and tackling group of Jianyang Prison Education Department, together with the restricted prison area, began to further analyze the internal reasons for Mao Heng’s violation of regulations and resistance to reform: First, the sentence was long; Second, the wife is serving her sentence and has no family support; Third, the level of cultural education is low, which is influenced by the same reform with poor performance, resulting in distorted self-esteem.

Subsequently, the prison area adjusted the idea of helping and educating Mao Heng. According to his correspondence, his wife, Sun Mou, served her sentence in Fujian Women’s Prison and performed well in reform. She also won the provincial-level reform activist in 2015, and she often advised him to adjust his mentality and make a good reform. Therefore, the restricted prison area proposed to give Mao Heng a special help and education-contact his wife and persuade him to help and teach through family phone calls.

With the support of the prison leaders and the leaders of Fujian Women’s Prison, a special phone call across the two places and the high wall connected the couple.

Tong Liang, the supervisor of the limited reduction supervision area, said that on the phone, his wife Sun advised Mao Heng to make a good transformation, and neither she nor her parents would abandon him. Mao Heng nodded to his wife’s words frequently, and his cheeks were covered with tears. He promised to make a good transformation, give his wife a hope and give himself a hope.

After this phone call, Mao Heng carefully wrote a letter of criticism. After lifting the strict control and returning to the restricted prison area, he also made a review among all prisoners, warning the same reform not to take his stupid road of resisting reform.

Gao Qiuhua, director of Jianyang Prison, told The Paper, "After a felon is sentenced, his family and social relations will bring about great changes, which will have a strong impact on the psychological changes of criminals. As a discipline cadre, we should pay close attention to these changes, grasp them in time, take active precautions, and provide effective help and education according to different situations through thorough analysis."

According to the materials provided by Jianyang Prison, there has been no escape case for 15 years since 2003, and the conversion rate of stubborn and dangerous criminals in the past five years is 86.8%, which is higher than that of ordinary prisons. Because of the outstanding achievements in the reform of restricted criminals, in December 2016, Jianyang Prison was also awarded the title of "National Advanced Collective of Judicial Administration System" by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.