By Ben Notterman / Huffington Post Video of Henry McCollum’s release shows the exonerated death row inmate making his way through a crowd of excited onlookers and into his family’s car, where he could not figure out how to fasten his seatbelt. In his defense, many states did not begin mandating the use of seatbelts
By Dianne Frazee-Walker According to educator and author David Chura, advocating for prison reform does not mean being “soft on crime.” What it does mean is people who can see the truth are tired of watching the prison system working against crime and safety. When Chura and other prison reform advocates propose approaches to lower
By Rebecca Elliott / Houston Chronicle Bags of chips, pairs of tennis shoes, packages of Ramen noodles. Over the years, revenue from purchases made by inmates at the Fort Bend County jail’s commissary has added up. Now, the proceeds are financing an expanded correctional education program, complete with a new vocational training facility. Come January,
By Leigh Erin Carlson, National Director of Programs While news reports and scientific studies are now touting the benefits of prisoner education, at GOGI, it is considered old news that the education of inmates and prisoners correlates with increased levels of success upon release. We have known this fact because we asked the prisoners. By asking the prisoners what
By Samantha Schmieder / Gazette.Net Inmates at Montgomery County Correctional Facility participated in its first-ever educational fair on Wednesday, allowing them to see the many options available once released. Participating vendors included the University of Maryland University College, the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, the Aesthetics Institute of Cosmetology, and many other colleges, GED programs,
By Petride Mudoola / NewVision One of my favorite things to do when I meet an inmate for the first time is to ask: “What is your story?” Asking that question in a jail setting usually results in a non-trusting glare from the inmate. However, when I further define the question by letting the inmate
By Clio Chang / USNews.com The New York City Department of Corrections has decided to eliminate solitary confinement for inmates aged 16 and 17 by the end of the year. This resolution is a response to public criticism of abusive conditions at Rikers Island, which houses more than 12,000 of the city’s inmates. The jail
By Jay Derragon
The majority of people in prison are not hardened criminals; they are good people who have made bad decisions. Yet the current educational system in prisons leave little room for good people to learn how to avoid bad decisions. As W. Edwards Deming said: “A bad system will defeat a good person, every time.”The current system of prison education is not doing enough to empower behavioral change and rehabilitation of minds. The current “system of education” within prisons is antiquated, ineffective, costly and ripe for change. A transformation in methods, means, and thinking is desperately needed.
Since 1985, the number of people incarcerated has jumped from about 744,000 to over 3.3 million in 2011. That represents an overall increase of more than 400%. While all sectors have grown over that time period, the highest growth was in the federal prison population, which increased by 473%. Increases in the other sectors ranged from 175% in state prisons to 178% in local jails. “The current correctional rehabilitation system is obviously is not working”.
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) reported in 2011, that nearly 7 in 10 people who are formerly incarcerated will commit a new crime, and half will end up back in prison within three years. Given that about 95 out of every 100 incarcerated people eventually rejoin society, it is crucial that we develop programs and tools to effectively reduce recidivism.
No one needs convincing that prison is probably a lonely place, filled with hostile guards and dangerous inmates. At least from the Hollywood point of view, the only comfort for most convicts is a letter from home or the occasional visit from family or friends. Sadly, though, a new study indicates that many prisoners do
We have profiled every prison within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Learn about each prison’s location, security level, educational and recreational offerings, and much more.
Elizabeth Franklin-Best P.C.
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