Give that Prisoner a Job

Now, here's one of the ills of our society, something we sometimes do wrong.

Would you agree that prisons shouldn't be just about punishment; they should also be about rehabilitation? Would you agree that the things you want them to do once they leave the prison are things they should practice doing while in prison?

Every prison should have a work program, one that includes all the inmates. If work is something we want the person to do once out of prison, they should be doing it while in prison. They shouldn't have a free pass in life, just sitting in jail not working. I shake my head in mild amazement that we have prisons without work. Why have them practicing a life pattern of laziness? This is rehabilitation?

But pay the prisoner, for goodness sake, and pay him (or her) a fair and equitable wage. Many of our prisoners are providers for their families. Why take that away from them? Providing for a family is a good thing. It is something we want to engender in them. It is part of being productive members of society, which is what we want them to be.

They should be paid respectable wages for their work. From the wages they earn, have them pay for their lodging, same as we all work and pay for our housing. Prison housing being more expensive than normal housing, we should make sure how much they pay does not keep them from netting enough to give to their families. Supporting a family is a good thing. Let's let them do that.

Never a prisoner without work. Even the person who is in for life, we should want to become a better soul. 

Of all people in our society, these are those we should make sure are getting jobs. Many enter our prisons not gainfully employed. So, having them in prison becomes opportunity to teach them to work. If you want a person to be something, it is said, treat them as though they already are that person, and they will be much more likely to become it.

If ever our nation gets around to prison reform, this should be a part of it.