COVID19 Threatens Prison Population. Why We Need Education Programs in Prison.
As COVID19 explodes across the world, flaws and weaknesses in the United States’ systems that have been ignored for far too long are being exposed. The US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world with nearly five million Americans flowing through penal institutions each year. It’s no surprise that local governments are having to make critical choices to reduce the spread of the disease. Hundreds of inmates that are vulnerable, low-risk, or nearing the end of their sentence are being released across the country and Trump has called on federal prisons to consider doing the same. Whether it’s tomorrow or 20 years from now, most inmates will be released from prison eventually which brings up the question of what type of person we want returning to our communities? What skills do we want them to have? Do we lock someone in a box for 20 years and cross our fingers that they’ve magically learned their lesson by the end of their sentence? Or do we ensure that the people we are releasing are rehabilitated, productive, members of our society?
To understand our current situation, think about this; 650,000 prisoners are released every year in the US and nearly two thirds will be rearrested within the first three years. According to a recent study by the Brookings Institution, just 55 percent of men report any…
