Katie A., a college student,  asked what kind of policy changes I would suggest to increase the possibilities for correction in America’s prison system.

Naturally, I recognize the need for prison staff members to maintain security and order within an institution. Prisons exist to protect society. When policies create oppressive environments, however, they lessen the likelihood of encouraging reform among the offenders that prisons hold. High recidivism rates make this clear. The Pew Report recently published findings that show how our prison system has grown. Despite $9 of every $10 in correctional spending going to confine people in prison, the Second Chance Act published findings that show seven of every 10 prisoners recidivate. Although I’ve been a prisoner for more than 21 years, that data suggests to me that this public policy is in need of reform.

We need prison reforms that do not necessarily make prisons more lenient, but rather provide incentives that would encourage offenders to work toward earning freedom through merit. When administrators implement policies that extinguish hope, that require staff members to do nothing more than guard, they miss an opportunity to create an environment where real growth can take place.

The policies that I would change would be those that totally isolate offenders from hope of making meaningful contributions to society. Rather than telling prisoners that the only matter of importance is the turning of calendar pages, I would recommend reforms that offer mechanisms through which prisoners can work to reconcile with society.

If prisoners perceived that they could work toward making a positive change in their classification and status through merit, prisons would inspire hope. That hope would lessen the troubling tendency of negative adjustments. The high rates of failure that our nation’s prisons condition are well documented. My experience convinces me that prison reforms that include incentives would create an atmosphere where corrections can take place. Such reforms would lower recidivism rates, lower operating costs of prisons, and lead to safer societies.

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Phillip Zimbardo was a professor at Stanford University. In the 1970s he conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment which created a mock prison for the purpose of studying how the culture of the prison influenced the behavior of both prisoners and guards. The experiment showed that many guards became tyrannical and abusive while many prisoners adjusted poorly. Dr. Zimbardo had to abort the experiment early because of the chilling results. Volumes of literature have discussed the findings of the academic study, though prisons remain oppressive environments that don’t seem well equipped to prepare offenders for law-abiding lives upon release.

I believe that prison staff members begin their careers with aspirations of making a real contribution to society. They seek stability and an honorable trade through which they can support their families. The prison culture, however, has a pernicious influence not only on prisoners, but on staff members as well. The emphasis on control results in the dehumanization of prisoners. It is abnormal in our society, and it frequently leads to resentment, hostility, anger. Prisons become tense. Years of exposure influence the psyche, diminishing the propensity for happiness and replacing it with cynicism.

I don’t know the personnel statistics, though I would not be surprised to learn that those who build careers in corrections suffer from higher rates of divorce and depression and alcoholism. Such results would follow years of exposure to the negative, hopeless environment of the prison. It seems a culture that by its nature is the antithesis of all we stand for in America, including liberty, family, and each man’s inalienable right to pursue happiness.

My perspective, of course, comes from having served more than 21 years in prison. I have lived with ceaseless pressure that comes with confinement. Clearly, anyone who asks my perspective understands that as a prisoner, I see these cultures differently from those who have not had their ties to family, community, education, careers, and liberty cut.

To change the prison culture, and to foster more fulfillment for those who staff prisons, I would think that administrators would have to create atmospheres of hope rather than oppression. I am not optimistic, though I do expect prison reforms may come soon that will bring improvements to these caged communities.

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