HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
NOVEMBER 2013
81
Peter Moskos, an associate professor at
New York’s John Jay College of Criminal
Justice, argues that suchathletic programs
offer inmates a rare opportunity for self-
improvement. “It’s really easy to forget
how cruel prison can be,” he says. “I think
that in thename of humanity, you’ve got to
give people someway tobe er themselves.
After all, even if it’s not always carried
out, remember that the whole purpose of
prison is ostensibly to help people.”
C
halernpol Sawangsuk’s life was
never easy. A stern-faced, taciturn
man, he grewup north of Bangkok,
in a poor family, and was raisedmostly by
his grandmother and mother. He joined
a Muay Thai gym at the age of nine and
competed successfully at the amateur
level for a couple of years. But many of his
childhood friends were joining gangs, and
he was tempted by the criminal life and
all the possibilities that camewith it—the
money, the cars, the women.
By the time he hit 16, Sawangsuk was
making a good living working as muscle
for various criminal organizations. He had
