Dem
47
GOP
53
Readers who have seen the classic 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption will know that it primarily focuses on one prisoner who is ostensibly rehabilitated but cannot handle life outside of prison (after nearly 50 years) and so takes his own life, one prisoner who is ostensibly rehabilitated, and looks like he will make it on the outside (the movie ends before we get full confirmation), and one prisoner who never needed to be rehabilitated and escapes. Those readers will also know that the story, like a great many Stephen King works, is set in Maine.
We could not help but think of that movie when we received this two-part story sent in by reader A.S. in Bedford, MA. It is, as you can guess, about rehabilitating prisoners in Maine.
The narrative begins more than two decades ago, with an endowment from philanthropist Doris Buffett (sister of Warren) and her Sunshine Lady Foundation. She gave money to allow prison inmates to take college courses. In that time, pretty much all college courses have gotten to the point that online access is a necessity. So, that led to laptops being issued to the inmates. And once you have education and computers, you can start learning practical skills, like coding.
The two linked stories are about the next step forward in the progression. Under the computer education program, the "final project" is to develop an app or a website that will, in some way, help prisoners. That's pretty good, in and of itself, but it gets better. Anyone who completes the coursework and the project not only has practical skills, they have proof-of-concept that they know how to apply those skills. And computer + Internet access + practical skills + proof of skills means that they are candidates for remote employment, for actual businesses. Maine has thus become the first state to allow prisoners to work remote jobs.
The benefits here are obvious. Not only are incarcerated folks developing a professional résumé and potential contacts in the outside world (some have continued in the same jobs after being released), they can also build a bankroll. One of the primary factors that pushes people back into crime after their release is that they don't have any other way to get money, and to pay for the necessities of life. The remote-work program has the potential to solve that problem. It should also be noted that the program also pays dividends while the participants are still incarcerated, as people who have hope and who have something worth hanging on to are much more likely to mind their p's and q's. For example, the number of assaults on prison staff has dropped 91% since the remote-work program was introduced. Even Andy Dufresne would be impressed (and you can bet that if he were around today, he'd be installing laptops in the Brooks Hatlen Memorial Library).
It is not a secret that the U.S. prison system is far less effective at rehabilitation than most European prison systems. That may have something to do with the United States' habit of arresting a far greater percentage of the population than in other nations. It may also have something to do with the view, often encouraged by the nation's leaders, including certain current residents of the Oval Office, that prisoners are less than human, are animals, etc. One can only hope that the successes in Maine will inspire other states, and suggest a different way forward.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)