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Sure, some of us have had run-ins with the law; some of us have even spent some time
behind bars, but no matter how badly you thought you had it, it's nothing compared to the conditions
in some of the most notorious prisons across the world.
10.
San Quentin State Prison: San Rafael, California This prison is where most of death row seems
to die while they wait - as San Quentin has the largest population of death row inmates.
Robert Galvan, an inmate at San Quentin, said, "We are just left on a shelf, and that’s
worse than being executed because you’re just waiting to die".
Though they don't have to deal with the many extremes as some of the other prisons on our
list, it is still a damnation of its own sort to be faced with one's own mortality, and
little to nothing else.
9.
La Santé Prison, France Located just a few miles from the Seine River
in the heart of Paris, France, lies the La Sante Prison.
Upon seeing the conditions of this horrid place, you'll quickly realize that the city
of love is just skin deep.
The prison first opened its doors to receive inmates in 1867, developing a history of abuse
and cruelty.
Nearly an inescapable prison, only three successful escapes have happened, the most daring of
which was performed by the wife of the bank robber, Michel Vaujour.
He escaped when she landed a helicopter on the roof of the prison.
8.
Rikers Island New York, NY Holding between 10,000 and 12,000 inmates
on average, the notorious prison Rikers Island is located just off of New York in the East
River.
Housing many violent criminals, the island prison has a long history of rapes, murders,
assaults and other exploitations of human life, by both guards and inmates alike.
The guards there have been charged many times for excessive force - with two guards being
arrested for organizing fighting pits between the inmates.
With corrupt guards, it hardly leaves time for inmates to look over their shoulders at
one another - though they still have to, as prison gangs pose a more internal threat to
the populace. 7.
Petak Island Prison, Russia Located in Russia on White Lake, is a maximum-security
prison - where only the worst prisoners are held.
This prison doesn't just break you physically, it specializes in breaking you mentally.
All prisoners spend 20 hours a day in solitary confinement - as if being secluded in a large
building isn't enough - the halls are drafty, and the landscape around the prison is often
snow covered with little in sight.
Prisoners receive visitors just two days out of the year, and isolation and poor living
conditions often times drives the prisoners to the brink of madness.
6.
Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Nairobi, Kenya Kenya's Kamiti maximum security prison has
gained notoriety from the unfathomable living situations the inmates are forced to endure.
Between the disease riddled, filthy environment - having epidemics such as cholera outbreaks
- the prisoners are also exposed to rape, beatings and malnourishment.
Debatably, those are the best outcomes, as many prisoners don't leave unless carried
out of the building as nothing more than a corpse.
The worst part about this situation, is officials are aware of it, human rights activists have
protested it... and nothing is changing, and no one is forcing them to do so.
5.
La Sabaneta Prison, Venezuela It is said that one would stand a better chance
of survival on the streets of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, than you do in its infamous
prison La Sabaneta.
The late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, even once described the prison as "The gateway
to the fifth circle of hell".
The place is underfunded, understaffed and severely overcrowded to say the least.
Gangs hold more power in the prison than the guards, and vile deeds such as rape and murder
are common place.
Riots are very common, and in 2012, around 600 inmates were killed by guards and other
prisoners.
Just a short year later, in 2013, guards confiscated over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, and numerous
guns.
4.
Guantanamo Bay A United States military prison, located inside
the United States Naval base of the same name is no stranger to being under scrutiny, and
rightfully so.
Even though the Department of Defense originally kept the identities of all detainees and relating
information classified, a report by the Institute on Medicine as a Profession or IMAP would
go on to state that the health professionals working therein both "designed and participated
in cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and torture of detainees" - as the medical
staff was directly ordered to ignore any ethical standards during these standards.
3.
Black Beach Prison, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Known for its many human rights violations,
Black Beach prison is notorious for corrupted guards and brutality, inmate starvation, overpopulation
and vermin infestations.
Medical treatment is typically denied to inmates - with many dying from chronic disease.
Suicide barriers have been put in place, inmates are shackled for the majority of the day,
and the prison violates the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners. 2.
Gitarama Prison, Rwanda Being no stranger to terror, Rwanda hosts
one of the most dangerous prisons on the planet.
Infamously known for being the most over-crowded penitentiary in the world, there is said to
be 4 people for every square meter.
Built to hold about 500 inmates, it holds in the upper thousands today.
It takes hours to get anywhere, as movement is done in almost a conveyor belt sort of
method.
Barefoot, cold and filthy, anywhere from 5 to 10 people die each day on average, with
more hospitalized with various diseases.
1.
Camp 22, North Korea Built in 1965, Camp 22 is a prison especially
for political prisoners.
The large compound - capable of holding 50,000 inmates - is isolated to help break the mind
and spirits of those within.
The most vile part, however, is that entire families have been locked away for generations,
just to remove them from society.
It doesn't stop there, however, as the inmates are exposed to bio-weapon testing, torture,
and other experiments.
This prison alone seems like something directly out of a cliche horror movie, but sadly it's
very real, a still active.