The United States accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population, yet incarcerates about 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Examining a wealth of studies by researchers and correctional professionals, and the experience of educators, this book shows recidivism rates drop in direct correlation with the amount of education prisoners receive, and the rate drops dramatically with each additional level of education attained.
Presenting a workable solution to America’s mass incarceration and recidivism problems, this book demonstrates that great fiscal benefits arise when modest sums are spent educating prisoners. Educating prisoners brings a reduction in crime and social disruption, reduced domestic spending and a rise in quality of life.
Buy on Amazon / B&N / McFarland
my review:
Having personal knowledge from people I know, not to mention family members that have had scrapes with the law, I know how uneven the justice system can be. One of my main concerns with the U.S. Prison systems is just how “unreforming” they are. The whole point of jail and being incarcerated is to learn from your mistakes, do your time and payback your debt to society. That’s not how it works. It some prisons the criminals kept being just that, criminals. They prey on people who can’t defend themselves or that are just trying to bide their time until they are released and take advantage of that. I believe lack of education and honestly only knowing that type of behavior from their upbringing to be the main cause of most repeat offenders behavior. Some people just have that drive to live on the edge and it ends up biting them in the ass, whether it be drugs, stealing etc. There are some prisoners that will never be rehabilitated. For those who started out on the bad foot of life and did stupid things based on the ignorance of youth I believe they need to be given a chance. It takes a village and I think a lot of Americans are so wrapped up in themselves they forget that.
Although this book reads like a text book, it’s thought provoking and touches on all of the points above. You honestly don’t want to agree with Christopher in the beginning…..why should I care about criminals education when I’m worried about my son’s right now? You end up being enlightened by his points and I honestly hope our government gets out of their own way and figures out how to make education a priority in this country instead of wars and basically babysitting prisoners.
About the author:
Christopher Zoukis is an impassioned advocate for prison education, a legal scholar, and a prolific writer of books, book reviews, and articles. His articles on prison education and prison law appear frequently in Prison Legal News, and have been published in The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, Blog Critics, Huffington Post and Midwest Book Review, among other national, regional, and specialty publications.
Mr. Zoukis is often quoted on matters concerning prison law, criminal law, prisoners’ rights, and prison education. Recently, he was the focus of an article at Salon.com concerning America’s broken criminal justice system and potential solutions to the current crisis.
When not in the thick of the battle for prison reform, prison education, or prisoners’ rights advocacy, Mr. Zoukis can be found blogging at PrisonLawBlog.com, PrisonEducation.com, and ChristopherZoukis.com.
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