10 Killed in Ecuador Prison Riot
November 18, 2022
On November 18th 2022, an estimated ten inmates were killed in a prison riot in Quito, Ecuador. This is just one of many prison riots that have occurred in the last year in Ecuador, and prisons all around the world are desperately calling for reforms in their systems. For many years now, there has been major corruption and unrest within prison walls, and things don’t really seem to be getting better. Prison violence is something that cannot be ignored. It has been going on for years now, and there needs to be a reform in our justice systems. — Megan Tsou
There is no doubt that there is a major abuse of power inside prisons: guards have been assaulting and abusing inmates, and violence has ensued amongst inmates. In 1971, an experiment known as the Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in order to see how a prison setting would affect a person’s behavior. Twenty-four people were chosen for this experiment. Nine guards and nine inmates partook in this experiment, and the results were baffling. As the project progressed, it became evident that the people selected as guards were starting to go mad with their power, going as far as harassing and threatening their fellow peers. Inmates were harassed, threatened and humiliated. The Stanford Prison Experiment states, “The guards broke into each cell, stripped the prisoners naked, took the beds out, forced the ringleaders of the prisoner rebellion into solitary confinement, and generally began to harass and intimidate the prisoners.” This bizarre treatment left the participants in states of shock and horror, and many suffered from emotional disturbance and rage after the experiment had ended.
With a battle for power going on within the prison, other inmates began to fight amongst themselves and distrust each other. It was every man for himself, and most inmates were in competition with one another. “Prison violence is something that cannot be ignored. It has been going on for years now, and there needs to be a reform in our justice systems,” says Megan Tsou (10).
All around the world, prison systems are full of corruption and unrest. Inmates, even ones in prison for petty crimes, are subjected to horrendous amounts of humiliation and harassment every day. Many prison guards continue to abuse their power, forcing the very powerless prisoners to submit to them and bend to their will. Unfortunately, the topic of terrible treatment in prisons tends to go unspoken about and there hasn’t been much done to fix the issue. We need to fight for less corruption in our prison systems, and deal out justice in the right way.
Tiana Salisbury • Mar 9, 2023 at 7:19 AM
Great article, Rishika! This was a very interesting read. I liked how you connected this event to the Stanford Prison Experiment, which I learned about in my AP Psychology class.
Tatum Steward • Mar 2, 2023 at 7:26 AM
I thought this was a well-written article which was very informative, especially for someone who had no idea this even happened. I suggest making the concluding paragraph not too similar to the intro paragraph, as it feels a bit repetitive.