News FeedIntelligence Trumps Force, Professor David Kennedy Suggests
David Kennedy, a professor at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, uses common sense to reduce crime and keep communities safer. In the February 9, 2009 issue of Newsweek, Suzanne Smalley reported on Kennedy’s techniques and the significant drop in crime (in 2008, one Nashville community saw a 91% decrease in drug crimes and […]
Prison Reform Can Lower Recidivism
In 2002, the Bureau of Justice Statistics published Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994 by Patrick Langan and David Levin. “The study found that 30 percent [of] released prisoners were rearrested in the first six months, 44 percent within the first year, and 67.5 percen within three years of release from prison.” I gathered this […]
Squandering Billions on Corrections
America squanders $59 billion each year on a system that ridiculously calls itself corrections. According to the famous social scientist James Q. Wilson, society should limit the purpose of this system to isolating and punishing offenders. I wonder when American citizens will tire of this failed public policy. Too many American citizens live with delusions […]
Reduce Recidivism Through Reform
As a society, citizens ought to expect our $59 billion prison system to do more than warehouse offenders for the duration of their sentences. When we lock offenders inside abnormal communities for years or decades at a time, we condition them for non productivity. Rather than encouraging redemption, prisons extinguish hope and breed resentment. This […]
Prison Administrators Resist Change
Through the Second Chance Act, Congress found that those who spent lengthy terms in prison lost touch with society. When prisoners released, they lacked sufficient support to establish themselves. Such weakness led many prisoners to recidivate, lifting the costs for society. In passing the Second Chance Act, Congress hoped to help lower recidivism rates. Prison […]
Warehousing vs. Rehabilitation as the Goal of Prison
I would like to believe that rehabilitation mattered in the prison system. If rehabilitation mattered to the system, administrators would have released me many years ago. After all, during my first eight years of confinement, I earned an undergraduate degree from Mercer University and a graduate degree from Hofstra University. I was 31 and as […]
Media and the Subject of Prison Reform
Upon my release, or while I’m serving these final years of my sentence if possible, I will strive to work closely with the media to promote the need for prison reform. With statistics showing that America incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation, I am convinced our citizens ought to know more about […]
The Ridiculous Manner of Prison Managment
I don’t think prisons exist to help criminals. They are a public resource to help society. It simply turns out that the ridiculous manner in which prisons operate today, they lead to high operating costs, high recidivism rates, and corruption in society. We need prison reforms that will improve corrections. The Pew Report showed the […]
Ombudsman Panels and Prison Reform
The budget crisis, together with a recent judicial decision, may result in the early release of 50,000 prisoners who are held in the overcrowded California state prison system. Who will be responsible for determining which prisoners return to their communities early? Hugo Sanchez is a criminal justice student who asked my thoughts on who should […]
Utilize the Family Structure to Prepare Offenders for Re-entry
More than two years have passed since I’ve heard my mother’s voice. I have not spoken with my younger sister, Christina, in the same length of time. During those two years I’ve seen my older sister, Julie, three times. I hardly know my nieces and nephew, as prison rules prohibit me from playing a significant […]
Alternatives to Prison
The U.S. Sentencing Commission issued a report that said “alternate sanctions [to imprisonment] are important options for federal, state, and local criminal justice systems.” The report went on to hold that “alternatives to incarceration can provide a substitute for costly incarceration. Despite the published statements by the United States Sentencing Commission, judges rely on imprisonment […]
Prison Camps Waste Taxpayer Resources
President Obama has repeatedly said that under his administration, leaders will evaluate the effectiveness of every government agency and program. Those that provide useful services to society will received appropriate resources, and those that fail will undergo reforms. I know the economy, the war efforts, foreign policy, energy, and health care take priority. As long-term […]
Prison Administrators Can Lower Recidivism Rates by Offering Incentives
As I watched political news shows this past Sunday morning, I heard many Republican pundits assailing President Obama’s economic stimulus package with accusations that it lacks incentives for success. I wish those conservatives would support the use of incentives when deliberating over strategies for prison reform. For more than 21 years I’ve served time in various […]
Prison Furloughs Can Lower Recidivism
American citizens have a vested interest in preparing offenders for successful re-entry into society. Those who leave prison without strong networks of support, without employment prospects, without a fundamental knowledge of the communities to which they will return, and without resources, stand a significantly higher chance of failure. When offenders revert to criminal activity upon […]
Top Ten Prison Reform Goals, Article 4: Prison Reforms Should Include Partnering Prisoners with Community Leaders and Mentors
Blinky and I were confined in the same housing unit when I began serving my term. He had been incarcerated for ten years and he had a set pattern for serving time that I found typical of the penitentiary. Every morning he left for work in the prison factory, where Blinky presided over an operation […]
