Question 1: Should criminals in the prison be given the opportunity of learning and education?
Class 12 - English - Evans Tries an O-level Page -70
Answers
Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?
The Times editorial board argues yes:
States are finally backing away from the draconian sentencing policies that swept the country at the end of the last century, driving up prison costs and sending too many people to jail for too long, often for nonviolent offenses. Many are now trying to turn around the prison juggernaut by steering drug addicts into treatment instead of jail and retooling parole systems that once sent people back to prison for technical violations.But the most effective way to keep people out of prison once they leave is to give them jobs skills that make them marketable employees. That, in turn, means restarting prison education programs that were shuttered beginning in the 1990s, when federal and state legislators cut funding to show how tough they were on crime.President Obama pointed the country in the right direction last year by creating a pilot program that will allow a limited number of inmates to receive federal Pell Grants to take college courses behind bars. The program will include colleges that either run prison education programs or want to start them. So far, more than 200 schools in 47 states have expressed interest.
Alex Schwartz, one of our Student Council members, agrees with the Times editorial:
The editorial board makes a very compelling case for investing in a solid higher education system for prisoners. It made me think about the roles of inmates in society once they are released from prison, and how we should really be considering that when looking at criminal justice reform. It’s not just about improving inmates’ experiences in prison; it’s making sure that they’re on their feet once they’re released.
But, not everyone supports this line of thinking. In 2014, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made a proposal that would have set aside $1 million in a state corrections budget of $2.8 billion to finance college education programs behind bars in New York, a vocal opposition scuttled the idea. Here is what The Times reported then:
In Albany, lawmakers started petitions to collect signatures from constituents who oppose the idea, including one with the title “Hell No to Attica University.” The State Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and a group of independent Democrats, included in its draft of the budget a provision that forbade the use of state money to pay for college degree programs in prisons unless inmates pay the full tuition.The idea provoked outrage in Washington: Three Republican congressmen from upstate New York introduced what they called the Kids Before Cons Act, which would prevent federal money from being used to pay for college classes for federal or state prison inmates.The proposal also gave fodder to Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who is campaigning to unseat Mr. Cuomo in November. During a recent visit to Buffalo, Mr. Astorino, a Republican, spoke about how he and his wife were saving to pay for their children to go to college. “Maybe our 10-year-old son, we should sit him down and explain how to rob a bank,” Mr. Astorino said.