What a revelation to have found Daniel Labbe’s blog, Between The Bars. He is a former inmate with some well conceived thoughts about what an improved prison/jail experience could be. The following are his words, but I wouldn’t be sharing them if I didn’t think there are some ideas that have merit. So, if you ever thought that perhaps we could do better with our prison and jail systems, you probably will be interested in this. (Edited to fit, with links below.)
Daniel: “There is a lot of talk about creating a prison system that is more focused on educating and rehabilitating those who live within its walls. Having spent the last ten years of my life in prison, and from my own experience with successfully working through the issues that led to my incarceration, participating in available [Department of Correction] programs, and observing my fellow inmates, I have a few ideas of my own about the ideal prison and how it would run.
“The first step must be to replace the criminal justice system with one that would define justice as victim restoration and offender rehabilitation, basically, restorative justice. It would also place greater emphasis on supporting those recently released into our communities to ensure a more successful reintegration. In my ideal prison system each state would designate at least one prison as a rehabilitation and restoration center (RRC). The goal of these facilities would be to educate, train, and empower their residents so they can lead lives that contribute to the health and well-being of their families and communities.
“On the day of their sentencing, first time felony offenders are given the option of going to the RRC to participate in the one to two year program. Upon completion of the program first time offenders will have their sentences reduced by 1/3. Second time felony offenders are given the option to go to the RRC but will not receive a sentence reduction if they have already been through the program. Offenders cannot participate in the RRC program if they have gone through it twice.
“So what kind of program would the RRC use? Luckily there is an abundance of research about which kind of programs work well with at-risk populations and reducing recidivism. One such program is The Path of Freedom another is The Mind-Body Awareness project. These programs typically include the following core lessons: Mindfulness and meditation, Impulse control/stress tolerance, Emotional Intelligence/Regulation, Empathy and compassion, Personal responsibility/Accountability, Transforming negative core beliefs, Cognitive therapy, Interpersonal skills/Conflict resolution, Forgiveness, and Basic goodness/Self-discovery. All taught over an 8-12 week period.”
[While other methods have been tried, none have been very successful. What has worked is] “a mindful way of helping a person see the manipulative part of their ego structure: A ten day intensive meditation retreat. Sounds far out, but such a retreat has been held in multiple MAXIMUM security prisons with great success. One such prison is in Alabama, with twenty of the most serious offenders. Most completed the retreat and experienced remarkable personal transformations, so amazing, a documentary and a book were created about it. Both are named ‘The Dhamma Brothers.’” [Here’s a link to the book.]
Nancy: This is not where Daniel’s writing ends on this subject. You can read it all here (scroll down for a transcript) and see what you think. Maybe it will spur a conversation. Maybe some really workable ideas could come out of it. In parting, I should probably say that I have not read everything by this author, so I have no position on anything but what you see here. Still, we are a compassionate state and nation, and most people believe we could improve in the area of criminal justice. Even if you disagree with the thoughts above, I hope it opens some doors.
Nancy
Published by