American Civil Liberties Union

Wednesday's tragic fire in Honduras' Comayagua Prison, which took at least 382 lives, offers a somber opportunity for reflection on two levels. 

First, as the worst prison fire in recent memory, it reminds us of the porosity of even the thickest of prison walls. The human tragedy of the hundreds of deaths is greater than horrific photos of burnt corpses awaiting burial. There are, of course, the families and loved ones of the deceased prisoners. But every prison is also a workplace, and in coming days we will likely learn of the officers and staff who lost their lives performing the prime job responsibility of any prison employee – to maintain health, safety, and security. Indeed, the Comayagua fire will forever affect the lives of thousands. Most prisons confine a few hundred persons in sterile buildings on a patch of undesirable land, but the events inside those buildings can inflict deep suffering on those living far beyond the bars. No matter how hard we may try, a prison is never truly isolated; not even the sharpest barbed wire can stem the seepage of suffering.