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mark johnson

CEO Life To The Brim, Inc, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Retired

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Do we Ignore incarcerated men, women and juveniles or help Restore them back into community?

I am recent retired Department of Justice employee (Federal Bureau of Prisons)and Dream Coach. Part of my life's purpose is to Inspire, Impact, Empower and help Transfrom those in the space I occupy. Understanding that rehabilitation does not happen just by incarcerating a person, but actually takes place when the individual recognizes the need to change from the inside.

The likelihood of this happening is when (society) the institution create and provide programs for the inmate to participate in while incarcerated. Is such an idea grandiose? And if not what type of programs would cost effective and cognitively meaninful?

Topics: Cognitive Dissonance Community building Habits of happiness Restoration SELF CONFIDENCE employment family family life self awareness self development
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  • David Grammer

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    May 28 2012: I am told that the science has been done. Effective means of rehabilitation have been tested and proved out. Great! One enormous hurdle overcome. Now all we have to do is convince self-interested bureaucrats to do the right thing and implement those practices. It's still almost entirely a question of will rather than resources and, sadly, politicians of every stripe have shown a pronounced lack of that.

    What we're really in need of here goes far beyond this one issue. We need to find a way to reclaim a democracy that has been co-opted by narrow self-interests and which is more responsive to cash than it is to principles and efficacy. That includes both sides of the spectrum which protect entrenched, failed programs as a means of fund raising. So far, campaign finance reform seems to be the best starting place. So if we can find a way to get that done, then rehabilitating prisoners is only one of many areas where we can make progress. Thank you for helping me to refine my thinking. I think my position now would be that it makes no sense to allocate more resources to an entrenched group which has a demonstrably negative track record and an unwillingness to implement meaningful change.
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      Edan East

      • +1
      May 29 2012: You are on to the major issue in this problem... Politicians that use the fear of the poor to focus our attention away from the real issues of equitible dispersment of public resources.

      We have lobbies that work for the Prison guard union, and for the private prison industry... but who will lobby for the incarcerated or the poor neighborhoods?

      Our politicians should be "ASHAMED" of themselves!!!!!!!

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