Research Paper Draft (In Progress)

Amanda Rogers
Dr. Sonia Begert
English 102
29 May, 2014

A Second Chance:
Providing Inmates Life-Changing Opportunities Through Proper Correctional Courses

“This year, some 600,000 inmates will be released from prison back into society. We know from long experience that if they can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit crime and return to prison. . . . America is the land of second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.”
-President George W. Bush, 2004 State of the Union

The United States of America is home to the highest number of incarcerated criminals in the world. Our country holds just 5% of the world’s population, and a shocking 25% of the world’s incarcerated population. Many factors contribute to this dreadful statistic such as the war on drugs, poverty, gang affiliations, and overall violence. Of course, in order to keep a level of justice in society, reduce crime rate, and discourage others from breaking the law, criminals should endure some sort of punishment for their crimes committed. However, I believe it is greatly important to distinguish between the act of being hard on crime and being hard on criminals. Punishment in prison has, unfortunately, become the main focus of the correctional system in America.  When an offender is sent to prison, that offender will have to endure the harsh policies, and troublesome living conditions that are currently in place in our criminal justice system.  Many psychologists believe the dreaded confinement conditions, along with a sever lack of criminal rehabilitation programs, make it extremely difficult for inmates to properly adjust to prison life, and in turn, makes it hard for them to ever improve their lives overall. For the sake of alleviating mental health issues, and ultimately, ensuring a successful re-entry into society, prison officials should take steps to mitigate the “punishment” aspect of the correctional process, and focus more on the rehabilitation of inmates through proper correctional programs and techniques.

        It does not go unnoticed that America exhibits extensive use of prison as a response to crime. According to a 2012 study conducted by The Sentencing Project, 716 adults were incarcerated per 100,000 of the national population in the United States, with a grand total of about 2.2 million inmates currently in the nation’s prisons or jails- a 500 percent increase over the past 40 years. Not only do these numbers make America home to the highest incarceration rates in the world, they represent millions of lives that have forever been changed. In addition to incarceration rates, the cost of prison in the United States is significantly high. In a study titled The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers, organized by the Vera Institute of Justice Center on Sentencing and Corrections, The full price of prisons to taxpayers in 2012 was 39 billion dollars, averaging a total per-inmate cost of $31,286. Adding to the overall cost of prison is the high rate in which America experiences criminal recidivism, which in other words is the rate in which criminals re-offend, and ultimately land back behind prison walls. The Public Safety Performance Project report in their study State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons, “Although preventing offenders from committing more crimes once released is only one goal of the overall correctional system, it is a crucial one, both in terms of preventing future victimization and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively” (1). It is important to remember, however, that the cost of prison runs far deeper than money. The real cost is to people, our communities, and most importantly, families of those incarcerated. 

Along with increases in America’s prison population, the punitive nature of prison is rising in severity, which leaves the overall health of inmates a cause for concern. Over the recent decades, policies regarding prison sentences have increased in harshness, and in turn, are leaving inmates vulnerable to the unhealthy structure of prison life. In her report Deterrence in Criminal Justice: Evaluating Certainty vs. Severity of Punishment, Dr. Valerie Wright, research analyst for The Sentencing Project states “Under the rubric of ‘getting tough on crime,’ policies such as mandatory minimums, truth in sentencing, and ‘three strikes and you’re out’ have been designed to deter with the threat of imposing substantial terms of imprisonment for felony convictions.” (Wright 1) Because of the nature of these increasingly harsh prison sentences, more and more offenders are being extensively exposed to the grim conditions that come along with prison life. Dr. Robert A. Ferguson, Professor in Law, Literature, and Criticism at Columbia Law School states in his article written for The Guardian, “Incarceration extends far beyond the official designation of time served. It means horrifying levels of degradation and cruelty to prisoners at all levels. Overcrowding, gang activity, endemic rape, unchecked violence and overly long sentences have turned our jails and prisons into pocket war zones.” Additionally, the use of solitary confinement has intensified, with some inmates being locked in small cells for 23 to 24 hours a day, for years at a time. These grisly conditions are something that inmates are regularly subjected to throughout the duration of their sentence, and seem to only increase the amount of instability and violence among the prison population. The tension, frustration, and stress of being incarcerated can damage an inmate emotionally; and with a sever lack of psychological help for inmates, the amount of psychological harm within prisons is rising.

In his paper The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison Adjustment, Professor of Psychology, and legal and civil rights enthusiast Dr. Craig Haney states “…as a result of several trends in American corrections, the personal challenges posed and psychological harms inflicted in the course of incarceration have grown over the last several decades in the United States” (Haney 1). Due to the immense harshness of current policies, while incarcerated, it is not uncommon for prisoners to lose grip of their moral values, and self-respect.  “Inmates lose much more than their freedom upon going to prison,” Says forensic and prison psychiatrist Diane Schetky in The Psychological Impact of Incarceration written by The Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast.  “They also lose their autonomy, self-esteem, identity, friends, choices, recreational outlets, and privacy.” She continues, “Prison security trumps many activities of daily life that we take for granted and may leave inmates feeling that it overshadows their personhood.”  The current way of life for any prisoners is irrefutably unhealthy and emotionally damaging. Seemingly, one of the toughest challenges for inmates, is the struggle to receive critical mental health help. Wendy  Pogorzelski, Nancy Wolff, Ko-Yu Pan, and Cynthia L. Blitz state in their article Behavioral Health Problems, Ex-Offender Reentry Policies, and the “Second Chance Act” published by the American Journal of Public Health, “…an estimated 16% of adult prisoners report having either a mental disorder or an overnight stay in a psychiatric facility. This translates into nearly 300,000 persons in active need of mental health treatment while detained and after release, yet only a fraction of those who need treatment actually receive it.” With an extreme shortage of mental health help to aid in adjusting to life behind prison walls, inmates often times progressively adapt to the inhumane nature of prison, and begin to become “institutionalized”. The way of prison becomes natural and second-nature to inmates serving long term sentences. Because the process can be subtle and difficult to recognize, inmates often to do not recognize they have become dependent on institutional structure. “Persons gradually become more accustomed to the restrictions that institutional life imposes” (Haney 6) says Dr. Haney. He continues, “prisoners do not ‘choose’ to succumb to it or not, and few people who have become institutionalized are aware that it has happened to them.” Because inmates experience so much control over day-to-day decisions, overtime, many inmates rely on prison officials to make decisions for them, diminishing their ability to think, make decisions, and function on their own. In order to break the cycle of the neglectful prison-related psychological harms imposed upon inmates, we must stop the process of inmates becoming dependent on institutional structure by incorporating proper correction techniques to help them cope with prison life, become self-reliable, and ultimately prepare them for a successful re-entry into society.

In order to further understand why such corrections courses are crucial for inmates, it is important to know that the hardships experienced after released can be just as grueling and those experienced behind prison walls.  Due to current policies for ex-offenders, it is incredibly difficult for them to access common community reentry services such as public assistance, housing, health and mental health services, education, and job training. As reported in Behavioral Health Problems, Ex-Offender Reentry Policies, and the ‘Second Chance Act’”:

One goal of community reentry, or reintegration, is to reduce recidivism. To lead a crime-free life, former prisoners need access to resources and opportunities that allow and encourage positive participation in society. Each year, over 600 000 people pass from prisons or jails to the community. These individuals arrive in the community with multiple disadvantages: drug and alcohol dependence, mental illness, inadequate or outdated job skills, and limited educational attainment. They also arrive with criminal labels that limit their ability to secure housing, treatment services, and employment. If they are to get a second chance, some form of public support is needed to help them resume a productive, crime-free life. Yet 3 decades of public policies aimed at being “tough on crime” have eliminated public benefits, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, general assistance, food stamps, and public housing typically relied on by people in transition, regardless of when they left prison.

Of course, in order to completely alleviate the issue of released offenders having restricted access to much needed resources, there would have to be many reforms made to current policy. However, with the mandatory use of various types corrections courses within prisons, inmates could have the opportunity to hold degrees, certificates, and life and work skills upon transitioning back into society, making their chances for success much greater. So what are the current policies of correction courses within prisons?  To answer this question, I have explored the current state of rehabilitation courses and techniques presently in place in American prisons.

Correctional courses in prison are often offered in a variety of ways such as education, vocational training, and substance abuse management. The problem, however, is that the participation in these programs are generally not mandatory, and in most cases, are seldom used by prisoners. In his article written for the scholarly journal Crime and Delinquency, Dr. James Austin, former director of the Institute on Crime, Justice and Corrections at George Washington University says “While incarcerated, inmates can participate in a limited number of programs that are designed to assist them in enhancing their ability to succeed upon release…By all accounts participation in such programs is relatively low.” (Austin 322) He continues to explain how according to a 1999 survey conducted by the Criminal Justice Institute, nearly one quarter of the prison population remains idle, and is not participating in any type of meaningful work or education program (Austin 322). Aside from these programs being voluntary, the scarcity of inmate participation is also due to the shortage of qualified program leaders and staff. Additionally, in many cases, the facilities used to hold these programs are less than desirable. “Less than 20% of the prison staff are defined as education or treatment staff. Low pay, sitting prisons in remote rural locations, high turnover, and difficult working conditions where program operations are often curtailed or disrupted due to lock-downs or other security-related considerations compromise even the best designed treatment programs. ” Says Austin. Often times, as a society we believe we are doing right by our communities by detaining criminals behind literal walls separating them from the rest of the world. However, it seems somewhere along the line we got lost in the thought that being hard on crime, meant being hard on criminals (Green). I believe it should not be our duty as citizen to give up on criminals, but to aid them in the process of living a productive life. Without the proper correctional courses, staff, and facilities, an inmate’s chances of ever learning how to develop into successful, self-reliable citizen is severely diminished. In order for inmates to utilize their prison sentence in the best possible way, prison officials must improve the quality of correctional and rehabilitation programs. Participation in such courses and techniques would prevent inmates from becoming “institutionalized”, and assist them in learning to adjust to prison life, provide to the opportunity to earn certain work skills, certificates, and degrees, and ultimately, prepare them for a successful re-entry into society. To explore the effectiveness of such courses, I have examined the unique correctional techniques of one particular State prison in Louisiana.

                

        Once known as “the bloodiest prison in America”, Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana is the largest maximum security prison in the United States. Sitting on 18,000 acres, and bordered on three sides by the Mississippi River, Louisiana State Penitentiary, better known as simply “Angola”, is home to roughly 5,000 inmates; 80% of whom are serving life sentences, and are expected to die behind prison walls (Pluck). Angola has for years been notorious for its violent past. Now, with Warden Burl Cain’s use of techniques for moral rehabilitation, Angola provides inmates with opportunities they may have never otherwise had. His philosophy is that of one we could all live by, “Good food, good medicine, good play and good praying….We do all those four components and we just rock and roll.” Cain says in an interview with journalist Loren Ghiglione. Cain allows, and encourages inmates to peruse an education and gain skills while they are under his care at Angola, offering several vocational courses such as welding, auto-mechanic, and carpentry. Additionally, inmates have the opportunity to earn their G.E.D., and even peruse higher education through the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Among Angola’s 5,000 inmates is Class-A trustee Alex Hennis. Currently serving his 20th year of a 40 year sentence, in addition to his many accomplishments, Hennis holds the title of being the only inmate in the state of Louisiana to earn a master’s degree behind prison walls. To gain insight of his accomplishments, and life in Angola, I conducted an interview with him the traditional way- through hand written letters. When asked what inspired him to peruse an education, he responds:

          The American culture says we’re supposed to graduate from high school, and go to college. Then you get a good job and later retire, and live happily ever after. Well, my life was broken. I wanted to find out why?  I wanted to rise above my circumstances. Education offered me a way to become better than I was, and defy the expectations of my surroundings. I enjoyed the success of my first A. Soon, I was well on my way to a 4.0. Once I had some education accomplishments under my belt, doors of opportunity opened. It opened up a better life for me within the prison system.

      
        Alex first gained the opportunity to pursue an education through the Associates and Bachelors programs offered through the Seminary at Angola. “I am a Christian” he says, “so I thought what better place for a prisoner who turned his life over to god than a Bible college.” After being re-located to Rayburn Correctional Center to help with their education program, Dr. Wayne Cook asked Hennis if he would be interesting in a regional associate master’s program. “Needless to say, I didn’t have to think about it.” He says. Hennis completed his Associates and Masters with a 4.0. Currently, he is back at Angola, working on his Master of Divinity degree, and once he finishes, he will be able to enroll in the Doctorate of Ministry program, which he has every intention of doing. “Dr. Cook asked if I would like to continue and go higher. Guess what I said? How’d you know?” Additionally, he states “That's hard to believe, isn't it? I'm in one of the craziest places on earth, and I'm working toward post-graduate degrees. God is good.” Alex’s educational accomplishment behind Angola’s walls is just one example of the incredible opportunities provided there.