Thanks for the comments about Scott Esposito’s article and our books–I hope you do get a chance to read them. There aren’t any easy answers to how we can fix our prison system, but I sincerely believe making it more transparent is a way to start. And one way to do this is through massive volunteerism. A friend of mine, Jan Riding, has created a program in the Federal prison in Arizona called RAISE (Retirees Available to Inmates Seeking Education), which has become hugely successful on many levels. To date, Jan has brought more than 80 volunteers (from a retirement community, no less) into the prisons to teach the men subjects ranging from music appreciation to basic living skills. The side-benefit of her program, as stated by the prison adminstration, is that it “keeps us honest.” Imagine the results if every prison had a program like Jan’s!

Thanks again for your interest in prisons. It’s time we took more resposiblitiy as a society for how we treat our prisoners, which seems to me to be a measure of our society, the greatest incarcerator on the planet…

Take care,

Ken