In order to find out how those who are locked up in Sweden’s prisons feel, SVT’s photojournalist Cristoffer Hjalmarsson has tried living in the Institution in Halmstad for 30 days.
– This has been tougher than I thought, but it is also a time I am grateful to have been a part of, says Cristoffer Hjalmarsson.
Everyday life in prison
12 hours a day were spent alone in a cell, just like the other prisoners. He occupied himself during the day together with the inmates, with, for example, a wood workshop or knitting hats.
Christoffer Hjalmarsson met repeat offenders who have been in and out of prison almost their entire lives, but also those who are grateful for their time in prison.
The guard: “Time here is the punishment”
– Many people think: Put them in prison and give them bread and water. They won’t have a good time. But the punishment is not that they have to live inhumanely in here. The hard part is that you can’t live your life, you can’t do what you want, and you can’t be with your family. Time here is the punishment, says guard Alexandra in the series.
Watch 30 Days in Jail on SVT Play.