How a tour of a Norwegian jail might make you reconsider how effective the U.S. justice system is
The point here is not so much that one system is obviously better than the other, but that the way we run prisons in the U.S. is not the only way to do it.
What comes to mind when you hear the word "jail?"
Probably "the opposite of freedom."
AMERICA: the home of some of the not-so-free. Image via Pixabay.
There's the overcrowding, crappy food, and the complete lack of privacy — all of which make one thing clear: Jail is not meant to be a picnic. It is a punishment for committing a crime after all.
In America, we're taught that it's meant to be anything but pleasant.
But is it the only — or even the best — way to do it?
A documentary series that follows a tour of a Norwegian prison shows a very different method of imprisonment.
This TV series, titled "The Norden," features an American named James Conway as he visits different prisons in Scandinavian countries. Conway, who spent nearly 40 years of his life working for New York's prison system, is particularly struck by the accommodations at Halden, a prison in Norway.
Me too, James, me too. GIF via "The Norden."
First of all, the prison's locale is gorgeous — it's surrounded by beautiful Norwegian scenery. The inside is breathtaking, too; the inmates have pristinely furnished living rooms, a laundry room, and — get this — a music studio. Conway really can't believe what he sees.
Why are things so "good" for these Norwegian inmates? It comes down to the system's values.
"One of the principles in the Norwegian Correctional Services regarding [is] normality, which means that you should serve in just as normal conditions as possible." — Jan Strømnes, deputy head of Halden prison
(This sounds better than normal to me, but maybe it's because I don't live in Norway and am currently dealing with a mouse infestation in my apartment).
Given his background working for the New York prison system, Conway was not convinced of Norway's approach to prison life.
"If you put that much faith in [the prisoners] and that much of a luxurious environment for them to live in, let them have the keys," he says.
"Why have them in prison, anyway?" Conway asks.
The Norwegian system focuses more on prison as a venue of rehabilitation rather than one of punishment.
And why Conway — and many Americans — might scoff at the concept of a comfortable prison (what's the deterrent if prison is so nice?), these fact-checked statistics from a segment of The Young Turks might make him reconsider:
- Intentional homicides:
- Norway: 0.6 per 100,000 people
- United States: 6 per 100,000 people
- Incarceration rates:
- Norway: 71 for every 100,000 people
- United States: 743 for every 100,000 (in 2009)
- Recidivism rate:
- Norway: 20%
- United States: 50%-60%
Hard to believe, isn't it?
Perhaps Norway's way of doing things isn't as bizarre as we think.
You can watch the excerpt for yourself here:
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.