Sri Lanka, July 13 -- The deadly clashes at the Negombo Prison once again revealed the ugly realities that inmates have to endure while being remanded or serving a sentence. This is not the first instance that such clashes occurred inside a prison premises in the country. But what transpires from the recent incident is that the larger issue of overcrowding, congestion and poor facilities inside prisons have been ignored by successive regimes.

Prison overcrowding is only the tip of the iceberg. Conditions inside Sri Lankan prisons are dire. Most inmates are being packed into cells and there's hardly any space for them to sleep. They don't get proper meals, drinking water and water to bathe or use the toilet. The congestion inside prison...