Why do such a large number of prisoners return to prison? Is it because they miss the prison life style? I think not. Maybe it is because we fail to rehabilitate them.

Prisons today are nothing more than schools of crime. It is a society like no other. I think most people who are sent to prison realize that they must pay for the crime of which they committed. They however do not prepare themselves for what they meet head on. That is a survival lesson like no other. Sad to say most prisons are not run by guards or wardens, but by the criminals themselves. Most go there very naive, but learn very quickly that they stand-alone against large odds or they give in to the older and wiser criminals just for protection.

Why do we not take back the running of our prisons and have an environment where most can be rehabilitated? Charles Silberman, who spent six years studying the criminal justice system on a Ford Foundation Grant says "Reform is essential for our sake, not just for the sake of inmates and guards..... the character of any society is judged by the way that society treats the least of its members" We are bright enough to know if we cage a dog and mistreat it for a period of time then when we do let it loose, it will not act as it did before, but will bite anyone who comes near. Why can’t we see it is no different with man. He comes back to society with a lot of anger and resentment because he received no protection while incarcerated.

Since a large percentage go there addicted to drugs and alcohol, they already have one battle to face and now they face another battle of survival. I have spoken with two prominent psychiatrists, Dr. Jitendra Desai and Dr. William Clarkson, both of whom agree that there is a greater need for drug treatment while incarcerated. Both of these doctors feel that for non-violent drug addicted prisoners that they spend a certain amount of time incarcerated for detoxing purposes and then moved to a halfway house for more in-depth treatment and monitoring while putting their life back together. I have spent more than twenty years counseling with substance abuse. Separating these people from their drug of choice is not a cure. It is true that physical addiction has passed after 28 to 30 days, but emotional addiction lasts a lifetime. Ask any reformed smoker if he or she does not fight the urge to pick up a cigarette 5 or 10 years later and if they pick one up will be back to square one.

When we consider that HIV is rampant (New York City jail Rickerd Island had 4532 inmates volunteer to be tested for HIV. They found that 23% were tested positive.) With this in mind we need to protect those entering prison from the HIV positive prisoners. You may say this is unfair and violates those prisoners’ rights. Now lets be practical, statistics tell us that 25% of male prisoners are raped each year in state and federal prisons. At Troutville VA the inmates are issued condoms, but I dare say few are used. The perpetrators are those who have been there longer and are more apt to be HIV positive. Think for a minute, when a new prisoner is run down and attacked, do you suppose that the rapist will say "Stay still for a moment I've got to find my condom." I say we must segregate those who are HIV positive from those who are not.

We also need to treat prisoners as human beings and take back control of our prisons. I recently went to Keen Mountain state prison to visit a man who has been incarcerated since 1982 and is up for parole in October. When I arrived I was told that this entire unit had been transferred to Wallens Ridge. I thought this to be strange since the unit he was in was medium security. In my correspondence with him, he states that they were placed in a separate wing from the maximum unit and they even eat in a separate dining hall. Isn't it strange that they were moved just before it was announced how many prisoners were housed there. This certainly justifies the building of Red Onion and Wallens Ridge. If a prisoner is given a small notebook to keep track of not only rules and regulations, but also keep track of points earned as well as negative points of reprimand. Then once a month sit down with their counselor and up date their points. Letting points earned give them more privileges, then we might find a smoother running prison system. You see the average inmate is functionally literate, chronically addicted, without adequate job, social or life coping skills...

70% are serving time for non-violent crimes. Most enter scared to death and just want to get out alive, but the society of inmates breeds violence and to survive they change to live in this environment...they have little or no self respect and loose even that after living in an environment of dominate scorn, and a lot of sadistic staff go out of their way to demoralize, demonize and degrade the prisoners. Is it any wonder that miserable, angry, bitter ignorant people do miserable, anger, bitter, ignorant things to others? They need to learn how to set, plan and achieve goals. I find that when people have little to gain by good behavior, they also have little to lose by bad behavior. Join me in helping to make a difference not just for the prisoners, but for us when we next meet one of them on the street.

With Liberty and Justice for All

By E Duane Lee

I have just talked to a young lady whose life is in shambles. Why? Well she is serving 5 years in prison. You may ask me for what and my answer will not match what the record shows. The court system will say for bad checks, but I will say because she is sick and has a bad disease. You see, she is addicted to drugs. There are a lot of victims serving time for being sick, you see alcoholism is classified as a disease, but it is a drug no less than heroin, cocaine or opium. The only difference is that society has made one of these drugs legal. Am I saying all other drugs should be made legal? NO!!! God forbid. But, I am saying the poor person hooked on illegal drugs is as sick as the ones hooked on alcohol. Well if she was using cocaine you may say she was brought up in poverty, an abusive home, a really dysfunctional home. I would like to tell you she was brought up in a fine home (not the case with all) where her parents did not smoke or drink. She also has two sisters who completed college and have very stable lives.

Why am I writing this article? It is because we as a society choose to incarcerate the ill rather than truly help them. The Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1998 says 59.63% of people serving time are for drug offenses. In 1970 they say that figure was 16.3%. America we have a problem. I believe (as do others) that if we take drug and drug related offenses, this figure approaches 85%. When I say drug related I am referring to those who forge checks, shop lift, burglarize, to have money to buy these drugs. We truly have a major crisis on our hands. Yes OUR hands because we elect the legislators who make our laws and have the power to change those same laws.

Another lady who for 37 of her 41 years lived a life that was picture perfect. She was married with two small children. She spent 16+ years as a model schoolteacher, wife, and mother, But one day something happened and her life started to fall apart. (Not unlike a lot of people I know.) In her pain she turned (with someone’s help) to drugs to try to ease that pain. She became hooked on cocaine and is now serving time in a state women’s prison. I visited with her in the county jail for five months or so. Then just recently in the state prison. She had lost weight and was very depressed. When I went to see her I was subjected to going through a metal detector such as our airports have. I had to empty my pockets, take off my belt and watch. You are only allowed to go in to visit with an ID, your keys to your car and $10.00 in change. I understand the need for extra security because drugs find their way into these facilities. Once I was in we entered a large room with tables and chairs where you could sit and talk. She was pale and gaunt and was quite tearful. When the tears started to flow I placed my hand on hers in a gesture of comfort, because she was stating that she did not think she could live any longer. Well I had a guard down my throat faster than my next breath and was told in no uncertain terms that I could not lay my hand on hers.

Our prisons have become total hellholes where there is a society of its own, ruled by the biggest, baddest, and toughest there is. What chance does a 5 ft. 85 lbs. women have when she is already sick? Some experts say you are detoxed in 28 days and certainly after 180 days (6 months). I'll agree that the physical craving has subsided, but that emotional craving has not, especially without good therapy. It is virtually impossible to work a 12-step program while in prison.

Women undergo intense pain of forced separation from children. This is one of the greatest punishments for women. This engenders despondency, feelings of guilt and anxiety about their children’s welfare. One young lady had made plans for her daughter, but after she was put in jail her family thought it was better to change this around causing confusion for the child who now feels unwanted and rejected by her mother's plan to have someone else care for her.

The average woman in prison has three children, which are serving time either with a relative or foster care. Most go to foster care. By the time their mother is released, this child has anger that now has to be dealt with and if not now they will deal with it later. In California alone 40% of the youth in custody have a parent who has done time. I propose that we first look at non-violent criminals.

Why doesn't our system give probation with restitution? Which would cost me and you the tax payers $869.00 per year instead of $17,794.00 per year plus foster care for and average of three children ($5628 x 3) $16,884.00 and this is a minimum. In case of special needs children it can be as much as $120,000.00 per year. When will all this madness stop? When will we the taxpayers say enough is enough?

Don’t think I'm ultra liberal because I'm not. I believe in the death penalty and I believe in life without parole (some prisoners need to be off the streets of life). But I'm talking about non-violent criminals (shop lifting, bad checks, traffic violations, etc.) Worse than this any where from 60 to 85% of all crimes are drug related and any drug program I've seen is minimal at best. Yet I read recently in the Roanoke Times that Javier Cruz who, after being caught, had moved two tons of cocaine through Roanoke, Va. in six months time. He was then encouraged to carry on business for the DEA for four years from 1992 to 1996. If my math serves me well that means Cruz could have moved sixteen tons. How many of American youth could get hooked on that much cocaine. According to the Roanoke Times most of what the DEA got was more people in the Cartel that they couldn't even arrest because they live in Columbia.

Let us as Americans demand our tax dollar be at least in part spent in rehabilitation and drug treatment. Maybe this will free up space in American prisons (I just read that California is close to double their capacity with five billion allocated to be spend on more prisons.) Maybe together we can get our representative to make us some promises on changes.