Johnny Cash’s croons once famously echoed from the cafeteria of California’s Folsom Prison. The surprise concert brought national attention to Folsom, shedding light upon its successful rehabilitation programs that turned out reformed citizens.
But things have changed for California. Recidivism rates that were once the lowest in the country are now skyrocketing, and the prisons sit in disrepair.
The culprit? Budget cuts.
Texas prisons have never reached the star status of California’s glory days. Our rehabilitation programs are limited and our recidivism rate is lousy. But there is one thing that these old-fashioned lawmakers let slip through the cracks of the prison doors: education. However budget cuts could now be our downfall, too.
Meet the Windham School District, which only operates inside prisons and offers General Education Development programs and vocational learning classes. This program has stemmed the recidivism rate from a stunning 75 percent for inmates who did not participate to a much lower 29 percent for those who did.
But that beacon may be dimming fast, especially if you listen to such legislators as Sen. Florence Shapiro who said in a hearing on March 17 that Windham is the “biggest waste of money I’ve ever seen.”
Shapiro is simply demonstrating what many Texas legislators have displayed in the last several weeks of proposed budget slices: a complete lack of foresight.
What Shapiro is not taking into consideration is the outstanding cost that the state incurs when it has to put someone in prison. The $117 million that Texas spends on prison education is pocket change when compared with the millions it spends on keeping people in prison in the first place.
Right now, Texas sets prisoners loose having learned nothing and still assuming crime is the most profitable life option. Because of this, Texas eventually spends millions on their return to the pin.
Education and vocational programs change this pattern. Instead of turning prisoners loose having lost years of their lives, those years have been spent learning valuable information they can turn into careers.
Shapiro clearly doesn’t see the benefit these people could provide. She, like many employers who do not see past the “felon” check on former prisoners’ applications, downgrades them as less than human by assuming they are unworthy of education and the subsequent salvation it could bring.
It is a recent phenomenon that prison is seen as only punishment without rehabilitation. Like Folsom, prisons used to be a place where those that had strayed from the path could renew their life and learn a trade so they could turn their backs on crime. Now, because of people like Shapiro, prisons are simply holding cells to keep people from committing crimes for a short time before unleashing them back into society.
It is time for representatives like Shapiro to look deeper into issues like this, and see the far-reaching implications that go beyond the money we may spend on them. It is time to help teach prisoners to—sing with me—”Walk the line.”
Jessica Huseman is a junior political science and journalism double major. She can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].
