ST. LOUIS, MO (Ivanhoe Newsroom) — Twenty-Five percent of the world’s total prison population is behind bars in the United States. That’s more than two million men and women convicted of crimes and serving time. Seventy-five percent of the state’s prison population never finished high school. But study after study is proving the more education inmates receive, the better chances they will succeed when they get out. Transforming lives.
“I grew up in a real dysfunctional family. There’s a lot of drug abuse, a lot of abuse. At the age of 21, I was shot by a police officer. I had a seventh-grade education when I went to prison,” recounts Johnny Ward, an ex-felon and now author.
While in prison, Ward got his GED. Eighteen months later, he had an associate degree in drafting and engineering, followed by a bachelor’s in behavioral science. And then a master’s in literature.
“I thought, man, I can do this time two ways. I can use it to strengthen myself and educate myself and come out a better man or I can just squander it because regardless, the time’s going to get done,” Ward says
“What we see is the more we invest in them educationally the better the long-term outcomes are,” claims Dean Glenn Sanford of the University of Houston.
Dean Sanford is part of the program at the University of Houston that’s been helping to educate inmates since 1974.
“This is an example of the students taking tangible steps to take control and to work to better themselves,” Sanford states
A recent study revealed that for every dollar invested in educating inmates, five dollars is saved in reincarceration costs.
“I’m not aware of anyone at the master’s level, who’s completed that who’s gone back,” Sanford proclaimed.
“I never was able to just see the bigger world. And so, education just made the world that much bigger,” says former inmate Curtis Brucker
A world outside of prison, that includes jobs, family, and a chance at living life with a new perspective.
“My habits changed, my vocabulary changed, my confidence changed,”
Over nine in ten state prisons provide educational programs for their inmates. Half of state prison inmates reported they had participated in an educational program. Most are not free programs. At the University of Houston, inmates pay for their education with help from groups like Second Chance and other organizations, transforming lives.
Right now, Johnny is writing his second book, the awakening. His first book, gridlock, can be found on amazon. Both are inspirational books for people who want to change the trajectory of their lives, in prison or not.
Sources:
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/prison-population-by-state https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/ecp.pdf
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer and Editor.
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