Assess the Impact of Meditation of Suspects on Trial on Criminal Offences in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The term Meditation is a process whereby one can make a conscious effort to relax and achieve profound peacefulness in mind. Meditation supports people to strive for transformation of the mind to take control of their inner self, understand the reality of life, practice the art of detachment and lead a simple lifestyle. This paper fundamentally assesses the impact of meditation of suspects on trial on criminal offences based on a selected prison in Sri Lanka.According to the prison performance report 2017, there is a significant growth of inmates in readmission for island wide prisons in Sri Lanka. Some of the key previous findings (Blatt, 2002) highlights, meditation is of key importance to center the focus of one’s life and enhance self-relaxation. The prime objective of this study is to assess the impact of current meditation applications for suspects on trial on criminal offences in Mahara Prison in Sri Lanka.The total population of the study is 110 inmates, and the study population was demarcated to the inmates who have been convicted and served the punishment for more than 10 years for various offences. The study population was finally determined for 48 and the researcher distributed the questionnaire for 35 inmates which cover over 70% of the study population. The researcher used primary and secondary data and descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the respective data.One of the key findings of the study is that the Content of the meditation programme has a significant positive impact on mediating the inmates. It also highlights that the duration of the programme also has a positive impact on meditation, not only that the knowledge and the skills of the presenter also have a positive high impact on the meditation programme.