Slave labor???

Look what popped out of the bottom of the can!

A letter to my representatives in Congress and in the Mississippi State Legislature in response to the nationwide inmate labor strike now underway and to reports on CNN that inmates are fighting fires in CA for a dollar an hour with no possibility of receiving work in the field after their release due to restrictions for certification with regard to criminal records. (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/california-is-paying-inmates-1-an-hour-to-fight-wildfires.html)

August 25, 2018

Dear Sir/Madam:

What is the purpose of incarceration?  Is it to provide an avenue for vengeance for those who are injured in some way?  Is it to separate criminals from the general population?  Is it to provide punishment for acts of criminality?  Or is it to improve the safety and prosperity of our society?

I vote for the latter and I would like to offer my opinion on how that might be better accomplished within our criminal justice system…  Foundationally we should base our justice system on restorative justice rather than retributive justice.  Most criminals have the capacity to learn, grow, rehabilitate and to become productive citizens. (http://tedtalkspsychology.com/the-neuroscience-of-restorative-justice-with-daniel-reisel/)  Inmates who are released with basic financial resources and a means to support themselves vocationally are less likely to become repeat offenders.   I believe that our society will be made safer by reducing the number of repeat offenders and my hypothesis is supported by research.  “Highly rigorous studies of educational and vocational programs have found lower recidivism rates for program participants and positive returns on investment.”  And furthermore education and vocational training is cost effective to me the tax payer.  “Prison-based vocational training programs provided an average of $5.76 in taxpayer benefits for every $1 of cost.” (Two quotes taken from a Colorado study https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ccjj/Resources/Ref/WhatWorks2008.pdf) 

I want my elected representatives to support justice programs that will:

• Encourage inmates to learn a trade and pay them fairly for a job well done.  (Mississippi pays them nothing which is literally slavery:  https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/10/wages/)
• End the practice of forcing inmates to purchase items such as tampons, deodorant and phone calls to family unless there is a means for them to make a salary that will support those basic necessities.  Rehabilitation will not be possible unless we treat our inmates with respect and dignity that is the right of all God’s creatures.
• Provide training for law enforcement and correctional officers in the ways to obviate the prevalence of minority detentions, arrests, and convictions.
• Provide immediate and sustained access for all detainees to both physical and mental healthcare and to substance abuse treatment.

Thank you,

Rev’d Jane Bearden