In African Prisons Support Comes From the Inside

LONDON -- There were few surprises when it came to the medals table at this year's Olympics, although the host nation was particularly proud of its performance, and in hosting the Olympics in general. More was invested in hosting the games than the GDP of many of the countries participating. However, if we compare medals won with GDP, a different picture emerges, and many of the world's poorer countries performed unexpectedly well, including West Indian and African nations, despite their relative inability to invest in the training and development of athletes. The world's wealthiest countries, led by the United States, invest huge amounts on criminal justice and imprisoning their citizens. The prison budget in the United States in 2009 was $60 billion, Uganda's GDP in 2009 was estimated at $41 billion.