Greenland’s open prison system, aims to rehabilitate its inmates rather than punish them. In order to help convicted rapists, murderers and pedophiles back on track they are free to walk beyond the prison walls if they have a job, need to study or have been given allowance to visit friends and family. Most prisoners, including the murder convicts (but not the mentally unstable), are also allowed to go hunt and hold a key for their own cell for privacy reasons. Around 150 inmates have been sent to Denmark from Greenland to be locked up because they were deemed too dangerous for the open prison system, but in 2007 Greenland will have its own secure prison, which is underway in the capital Nuuk. Although Greenland, the world largest island inhabited by 56.000 people, has self-government under the Danish realm, the prison system is still a Danish affair that has been adapted to suit Inuit culture.
This photo story follows murder convict Mette Petersen aged 26 and fellow inmate and roommate Amalie.
