Should Prisoners Get Free Education In Prison

     “It is not a surprise to see that prisoners all have a low education level. I guess a more educated person has enough sense not to be involved with crime…the relationship between crime and education is easy to see when viewing these facts” (Cordes 1). This is the view of most people when asked why people are in prison. People simply say that criminals were ill educated. As hard as we may try, we cannot do a lot about what happens before they enter prison, but there are many programs inside prisons to help rehabilitate them for when they leave the prison.

Although several educational programs are widely available, many inmates are unable to take advantage of them, do not complete them, or lack follow up in the form of ongoing support services once released from the correctional system. The following table displays this concern: Table 2. national and state data on inmate participation and completion . Approximate Numbers 1993-2007: Institution Type Total Number of Inmates System 165,000 167,717 Number of Inmates Enrolled in Education Programs 54,000 87,624 Rate of Attendance, At Completion of Course 50% 60% Rate of Completion

Many offenders will be released from prison and yet approximately 60% will return for violating the law (Beard, Johnson, & Kemp, 2003). An inmate that has an education equivalent to a

During one of his campaign programs, Presidential-candidate Bernie Sanders stood before a thousand applauding and cheering people. This man just announced, as hopeful future President of the United States, that he planned to make college free for every US citizen. Many young adults favor Bernie Sanders, and other political leaders, idea of free tuition because they believe that it will open more doors for them and allow them to not worry about the burden of student loans. However, there are many reasons that regulating free college education could hurt our society and economy that people don’t often realize. College education should not be free because it would raise taxes, it would devalue the worth of a college degree, and it would pave the way for more welfare dependency.

The article "Educated Prisoners Are Less Likely to Return to Prison" by James Vacca (2004), deals with the subject of if prisoners receive the right type of educational programs in prison their risk of recidivism goes down immensely. Vacca states that "Since 1990, the literature has shown that prisoners who attend educational programs while they are incarcerated are less likely to return to prison following their release (2004)." Vacca cites many examples of the types of educational courses the inmates should have to help them deal with their emotions and problems. The educational programs help the inmates deal with their social skills, encourage artistic development, and teach techniques on how to deal with their emotions (Vacca, 2004). These programs would help inmates deal with the issues that put them in prison in the first place and knowing these skills can then help keep them out of prison in the future. I find these arguments to be sound because Vacca shows the research from other people all over that concurs with his own claims of how these programs can keep recidivism at bay (2004). He cites many examples and goes into depth about why inmates may be in prison and what these programs will do to correct their problems and turn them into a real

It’s because we choose to continue to blame them and hold them accountable for past discretions. A study in Maryland found that, “those who did not return [to prison] as a result of education saved the state $24 million per year, twice the state's investment in its correctional education program” (Cronin). Everyone knows with higher education comes better opportunities, and a chance to have a “real life”.

Inmates need to be educated and rehabilitated in order to be released back into society. If prisoners receive a good education they are less likely to commit misconduct in the future. The Three State Recidivism Study

Prison inmates should be allowed to take college courses because an education offers a positive change for their release back into society. The education they receive will offer life skills and provide them with positive reinforcement to change their lives for the better; while restructuring the way some think and continue through life and society through making proper choices and better role models.

Prisoners should be granted privileges depending on the type of crime they committed. There’s different types of felonies that determine how long a prisoner is going to stay in prison. Violent crimes such as rape, armed robbery, and murder are most likely to get life sentences . Most prisoners have about the same amount of rights. There’s those prisoners who committed non-violent felonies/crimes but are serving life sentences. Prisoners who committed non-violent felonies; does not involve high levels of damage or serious injury, should have more rights than someone who killed people, betrayed the nation or raped people.

Offering classes to convicts while in prison and informing them of the dangers of drug abuse, would ultimately reduce the reincarceration rate when they are released. Throughout the documentary, “The War on Drugs”, there was a segment in which former convicts are actually attending college classes. There was around 25 of them that had attended the classes focused on wood technology. Because of these college classes, only 2 out of the 25 had returned to prison within the year, and the remaining 23 had found stable jobs to support themselves (“The War on Drugs”). This kind of success should not go unnoticed, college classes in prison should be implemented across the entire nation. By expanding the knowledge of convicts when they are in prison,

Before understanding the research to be conducted, one must understand the who, what, when, and why of the issue. Many people know and understand that with a better education they will have a better chance in succeeding in the business world. Getting a good paying job without an education is very difficult to do. Those in prison have it even harder, not only do they lack the necessary education; they also have a criminal

Why do we need to provide free education to prisoners? Part of an inmates rehabilitation process, if chosen, is education. The knowledge they gain helps inmates mature while being incarcerated. The education being offered to people incarcerated is provided by tax payers. The price of tuition outside of the correctional facilities is increasing yearly, so receiving a college education, for free, while incarcerated is an immense benefit for an inmate. This kind of education will prepare them for a life change, or a career opportunity after their release date. Providing free education for prisoners who have never considered going to college before being incarcerated may be their only option to turn to.

Education reduces the recidivism rate. According to www.ed.gov, “Employment after release was thirteen percent higher among prisoners who participated in either academic or vocational education programs than among those who did not.” Education gives

College Education should be free. Initially, my first reason will be about how it manages to help poor students get an education. Furthermore, my second reason will be about how more people would be able to venture onto college. To sum up, my last reason will be that students will have more freedom to choose a major they enjoy. Here is my information to prove this.

Education is not a fix all by any means, but it is the best start to solving the large literacy rates of US prisons. Of course, it will require much hard work on the part of the prisoner getting out, and there may be a large percentage who do not desire to take advantage of such programs, but Americans should encourage and give these individuals tools to help them back into society. Pont sums it up best, “Our aim should be to propel offenders into, rather than away from, successful participation in the labor force” (23). Stimulation of involvement in the work force will encourage offenders of the law to stay out of trouble rather than to take the revolving door that always leads back to the same place.