NPR's Weekend Edition included a story about budget cuts to a program that teaches life skills to prisoners.
The story quotes Alabama Senator Cam Ward:
The senator does not discount the value of the prison program, but should he not be suggesting that more funding is needed so both K-12 and the prison program can be funded? Why should we have to choose between them?
Race may be a factor, as it is with almost everything Alabama.
Earlier this month The Equal Justice Initiative posted a new study uncovering a disparity in support for prison reform. The larger the percentage of black prisoners the person in the study thought there was, the less likely they were to support reform of a law they had already said was unfair.
[Saturday Status is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]
The story quotes Alabama Senator Cam Ward:
"It's very hard to justify an education program for prisoners, when K through 12 doesn't have enough supplies and materials for their kids to go school," Ward says.
The senator does not discount the value of the prison program, but should he not be suggesting that more funding is needed so both K-12 and the prison program can be funded? Why should we have to choose between them?
Race may be a factor, as it is with almost everything Alabama.
Earlier this month The Equal Justice Initiative posted a new study uncovering a disparity in support for prison reform. The larger the percentage of black prisoners the person in the study thought there was, the less likely they were to support reform of a law they had already said was unfair.
[Saturday Status is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]
It's far more cost-effective to help a prisoner become employable and pay taxes, than to have no skills and thus ends up behind bars again.
ReplyDeleteBut you and I and, I suspect Mr. Ward also, knew that already.