Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison

[purpleme12]

Did anyone watch this?

It was really unsettling watch. For loads of different reasons.

Hearing about what those people did was awful ☹️ and Richard actually watched the video of it!!

Do you think they do torture/punish the prisoners and that's how they're kept in line?

They're very compliant from what we saw.

It was an enlightening watch because I had no idea about all the things in the programme

I have seen parts of it, is it worth watching the whole thing?

I saw the main bits. I’m actually surprised that they haven’t tried a rebellion in there. What would they have to lose?

I know that they did awful things. But if you’re not going to do the death penalty (and I don’t agree with the death penalty) then there’s something really sinister about just waiting for them to die in a metal cage with absolutely nothing and it doesn’t sit well with me. Also them not being able to have visits from their families- it’s not just them, their wives and children are presumably innocent and they’re never allowed to see their husband/father again.

I was very surprised as you said about how compliant they are.

The lighting really bothers me. I do completely understand how they need to see if people are planning stuff ie former gang groups but it’s too much.

Sorry I missed your actual question! Yes I do.

These people committed horrific crimes. They are gang members that did unimaginable things. I actually agree with them having nothing. I was shocked watching it but the country went from an insane amount of murders to like 5 or something so it's clearly working.

Having bright lights on 24/7 is torture in itself but I do think we were shown a small glimpse of what goes on in there.

There was multiple other buildings there all housing more prisoners and I think we were shown the end result, the ones that are broken. What goes on in the other buildings is anyone's guess.

I agree, you don’t go from crazed gang member to compliant prisoner without something happening in between.

they don’t see or speak to anyone on the outside so have no way of telling anyone how they are treated. I think more goes on than we saw.

I watched some, but not all. I actually found it very distressing. It’s great that these men are off the streets with no chance of parole, but the conditions are utterly inhumane. The bunks have no pillows or pads or blankets. The lights are kept on 24 hours a day. There are no personal possessions, no family visits, and no rehabilitation programs.

The prisoners are weirdly docile which made me very suspicious.

El Salvador is right to prtotect itself from these dangerous people, but they could do so without conditions that are cruel, degrading and unnecessarily harsh.

I wondered if they sedate them to keep them docile.

Interesting points

Yes we didn't see the other buildings

It said there were 96 isolation cells and yet they were rarely used he said....

Really really shocking to hear what these gangsters did outside and how they made life for people

Do they really get no blankets or anything? I thought to myself as well they're all topless so is it always just really warm in there??

I thought maybe they'd be allowed a book or something to do but there's nothing

https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/11/12/you-have-arrived-in-hell/torture-and-other-abuses-against-venezuelans-in-el

For those that don’t want to click the link; they are physically and sexually assaulted and psychologically abused.

what channel is this on?

That report makes for scary but not surprising reading.

It was on Channel 5 a couple of weeks ago.

I found it quite disturbing; vast cages of half starved, semi naked and completely docile men.

pinkpony's article was shocking, but I wasn't surprised to find out how brutal the institution is.

They're allowed a bible.
I do think they must be sedated, they're so docile.
The solitary cell is the stuff of nightmares but I don't feel sorry for them after hearing why they ended up in the prison in the first place.

I haven't seen the programme and initially had sympathy for them when I saw the advert. However Richard Madeley was on Jeremy Vine on 5 and told how these gang members would kill members of the public for no reason. He told one story of how some road workers were executed at the side of the road for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would consider myself a liberal, I believe prison should also be about rehabilitation as well as punishment and don't believe in capital punishment. However, after hearing that story my sympathy quickly vanished. These people are truly evil and not sure if I can watch the programme.

They really did seem evil from what we heard on the programme

And they only have a glimpse into what these people had done on the programme didn't we

I am assuming a lot of them will have done that to their victims too?

@Sidebeforeselfthe first yes, I honestly have no idea about the second.

The country has been completely turned around, but that wouldn't happen without some pretty extreme measures. The men were either drugged or knew they were at risk of terrible abuse (possibly both) as there is no way they could get that level of compliance otherwise. You only have to look at behaviour in other jails in dangerous countries to know that.

I think what has happened to El Salvador in terms of safety is absolutely fantastic. What these men have done is extremely disturbing, and completely removing them from society has been the answer in turning things around.

I have to say if i lived there I probably would accept the terrible treatment as a necessary evil to allow me to bring my kids up in safety.

I found it shocking too, and while I don’t have any sympathy for the men who committed terrible murders in the country, I really hope none of the inmates are actually innocent.

I also didn’t understand how they are all so docile (most prisoners in the UK at least have ADHD, childhood trauma, mental health issues etc and cannot completely control their impulsivity as a result) but I suppose being weakened through starvation and the threat of beatings and isolation must have this effect.

I wanted to know if any of the prisoners have managed to die by suicide? As that is what I would want to do in that position.

I bet Louis is absolutely spitting feathers that MADELEY managed to be the first camera crew in there.

It’s for Louis written all over it

Yeah I guess it would be a good one for Louis

But then wouldn't Louis normally manage to get meatier stuff out of his subjects, and this one was quite tightly controlled

I think what has happened to El Salvador in terms of safety is absolutely fantastic. What these men have done is extremely disturbing, and completely removing them from society has been the answer in turning things around.

I agree, and these men will rightly, never be free. But their incarceration should be humane. They can be securely confined but still have adequate living conditions, meaningful activity, and protection from abuse.

These are violent, terrible criminals. What on earth is going on in there that renders them silent and docile?

I’m completely opposed to the death penalty, and I know El Salvador doesn’t have it, but I bet some of those men would choose it if it was on offer.

I believe in secure lifelong imprisonment but it should still preserve a person’s humanity. The state should be held to a higher moral standard than the criminals it punishes.

Yes I suppose there wouldn’t be scope for the usual dialogue would there