Hobbit
Senior Member
I'm not talking about Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians (hey, they're the smallest, most oppressed minority of all. Where are their handouts?), or any of the other racial minorities that live among us each and every day. Few politicians bother pandering to them. Few people care if they live or die. The little attention they ever recieve is almost always to their detrement. Most of them are in such a rut that neither they nor their children ever escape it. I'm speaking, respectfully, of our nation's prisoners.
Don't get me wrong, prisoners do not need to be coddled like children. They committed crimes against the citizens of this nation and deserve a just punishment, but how just is our punishment? Any sentence passed down is, more often than not, a life sentence. 600,000 prisoners will be released onto our streets this year on parole. By the time the next president settles into office in 2007, 400,000 of them will be right back in prison, having done nothing to improve their lot in life.
The problem is recidivism. Currently, our prisons are little better than a long term time out, with the only funtion being to keep them confined to a certain area until we decide it's time to release them. There is virtually no effort made to rehabilitate them, as a functional program would cost more than politicians are willing to spend. It damages politicians' careers to be caught being 'nice' to crooks. As a result, few prisoners are ready to re-enter society unless they have made a concious effort at it. Maladjusted and with a criminal record, few of them can get, much less hold, a job. Without any stabliizing force, they end up right back in prison. With the rising recidivism rate, it's getting harder and harder for released prisoners to get a job, which, in turn, leads to higher recidivism. Lowest of them are the sex offenders. A new GA law, slated to go into effect tomorrow which would pretty much move all sex offenders out of the metro Atlanta area. This not only drives them into the state of depression that leads to recidivism, but also includes some who never deserved conviction in the first place. One GA man has commented that he'll be forced to move from his home because 12 years ago, he had sex with 16 year old girl with a fake ID that he met in an 'adults only' night club. He got 5 years, and now a life sentence of exile. Another GA man barely dodged the bullet, spending over ten grand on his defense when he was prosecuted for child molestation for urinating in a wooded area that was unknowingly within view of a child. The charges were eventually dropped.
Many people just don't care, placing all blame on the criminals and claiming that they'll just be that way no matter what you do. They're the only ones suffering the consequences of their actions, so why should I care if they can't straighten up their lives. First off, think of the victims. In three years, 400,000 people will be the victims of recidivism because a released prisoner who can't seem to catch a break will sink back into crime and commit crimes against them. And that's just the direct victims. Sometimes, the criminals have families. Their kids grow up with no father. Their wives become lonely. It's not their fault he committed a crime, but they are made to suffer, with little attention given to them.
So, in step the charity organizations, nearly all of them supported by churches. The largest such ministry is InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI). State prison workers see the program as a Godsend, and I see that as quite literal. IFI is a voluntary rehabilitation program funded almost entirely by charity donations with a few sizable subsidies from state governments (which go to practical needs such as food and equipment). The program is based on Biblical teachings and all of its volunteers come from local churches, but it is not a church, nor are the prisoners who participate required to attend services (though many do). The program focuses on personal responsibility and emphasizes education and work. The goal of the program is for the prisoner to learn how to take responsibility for his actions and realize that only through his actions will he ever improve. The results are phenomenal. In Texas alone, IFI participants had a recidivism rate of 17%, as compared to the average of around 50%.
In Iowa, however, things are not good. Americans United for the Seperation of Church and State filed a lawsuit against IFI. The legal fees are already terrible, and for an organization like IFI, which, unlike AUSCS, spends most of its money on things that are not lawyers, it's a horrible debt to pay. AUSCS won the suit, with the judge not only ordering IFI shut down in Iowa, but that IFI pay back all the money the state ever gave to it. IFI is appealing the decision and the judgement is suspended pending appeal, but this is still not a good sign. The only people involved with the ruling who are happy are the people at AUSCS. The prisoners, guards, administrators, and, of course, the IFI volunteers, are all devastated at the thought that it could just be thrown by the wayside.
The state has admitted that it cannot rehabilitate prisoners. It has also ruled that it won't let the church, the only organization that has rehabilitated prisoners, near them. I've seen lawsuits in the past aimed at making prisons more comfortable, but if all of these litigation groups really cared about the prisoners, why would they take away one of the few rays of hope they had of getting a better life for themselves outside the walls.
You can find out more information about IFI, the ongoing legal battle, and its parent group, Prison Fellowship, at the following links.
http://www.ifiprison.org/site_hmpg.asp
http://www.pfm.org/default_pf_org.asp
Don't get me wrong, prisoners do not need to be coddled like children. They committed crimes against the citizens of this nation and deserve a just punishment, but how just is our punishment? Any sentence passed down is, more often than not, a life sentence. 600,000 prisoners will be released onto our streets this year on parole. By the time the next president settles into office in 2007, 400,000 of them will be right back in prison, having done nothing to improve their lot in life.
The problem is recidivism. Currently, our prisons are little better than a long term time out, with the only funtion being to keep them confined to a certain area until we decide it's time to release them. There is virtually no effort made to rehabilitate them, as a functional program would cost more than politicians are willing to spend. It damages politicians' careers to be caught being 'nice' to crooks. As a result, few prisoners are ready to re-enter society unless they have made a concious effort at it. Maladjusted and with a criminal record, few of them can get, much less hold, a job. Without any stabliizing force, they end up right back in prison. With the rising recidivism rate, it's getting harder and harder for released prisoners to get a job, which, in turn, leads to higher recidivism. Lowest of them are the sex offenders. A new GA law, slated to go into effect tomorrow which would pretty much move all sex offenders out of the metro Atlanta area. This not only drives them into the state of depression that leads to recidivism, but also includes some who never deserved conviction in the first place. One GA man has commented that he'll be forced to move from his home because 12 years ago, he had sex with 16 year old girl with a fake ID that he met in an 'adults only' night club. He got 5 years, and now a life sentence of exile. Another GA man barely dodged the bullet, spending over ten grand on his defense when he was prosecuted for child molestation for urinating in a wooded area that was unknowingly within view of a child. The charges were eventually dropped.
Many people just don't care, placing all blame on the criminals and claiming that they'll just be that way no matter what you do. They're the only ones suffering the consequences of their actions, so why should I care if they can't straighten up their lives. First off, think of the victims. In three years, 400,000 people will be the victims of recidivism because a released prisoner who can't seem to catch a break will sink back into crime and commit crimes against them. And that's just the direct victims. Sometimes, the criminals have families. Their kids grow up with no father. Their wives become lonely. It's not their fault he committed a crime, but they are made to suffer, with little attention given to them.
So, in step the charity organizations, nearly all of them supported by churches. The largest such ministry is InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI). State prison workers see the program as a Godsend, and I see that as quite literal. IFI is a voluntary rehabilitation program funded almost entirely by charity donations with a few sizable subsidies from state governments (which go to practical needs such as food and equipment). The program is based on Biblical teachings and all of its volunteers come from local churches, but it is not a church, nor are the prisoners who participate required to attend services (though many do). The program focuses on personal responsibility and emphasizes education and work. The goal of the program is for the prisoner to learn how to take responsibility for his actions and realize that only through his actions will he ever improve. The results are phenomenal. In Texas alone, IFI participants had a recidivism rate of 17%, as compared to the average of around 50%.
In Iowa, however, things are not good. Americans United for the Seperation of Church and State filed a lawsuit against IFI. The legal fees are already terrible, and for an organization like IFI, which, unlike AUSCS, spends most of its money on things that are not lawyers, it's a horrible debt to pay. AUSCS won the suit, with the judge not only ordering IFI shut down in Iowa, but that IFI pay back all the money the state ever gave to it. IFI is appealing the decision and the judgement is suspended pending appeal, but this is still not a good sign. The only people involved with the ruling who are happy are the people at AUSCS. The prisoners, guards, administrators, and, of course, the IFI volunteers, are all devastated at the thought that it could just be thrown by the wayside.
The state has admitted that it cannot rehabilitate prisoners. It has also ruled that it won't let the church, the only organization that has rehabilitated prisoners, near them. I've seen lawsuits in the past aimed at making prisons more comfortable, but if all of these litigation groups really cared about the prisoners, why would they take away one of the few rays of hope they had of getting a better life for themselves outside the walls.
You can find out more information about IFI, the ongoing legal battle, and its parent group, Prison Fellowship, at the following links.
http://www.ifiprison.org/site_hmpg.asp
http://www.pfm.org/default_pf_org.asp
