Author: adisonammons

Does Education in the Prison System mean Freedom?

adisonammons

The Restoring education and learning act is being presented to congress to improve the life of inmates and allow them to feel a sense of worth or freedom.

The Restoring Education and Learning (REAL) Act would improve fairness and opportunity for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people by restoring Pell Grant eligibility for people with a felony conviction.

There has been movement in the Restoring Education and Leaning Act.

Therefore, if grant money was being used to educate prisoners while they are incarcerated the system might be seeing a different result as inmates are released back into civilian life.

 A “Pell Grant is what got me started, and … really what made the difference,” he says. Matt, like many other incarcerated men and women who received Pell Grants in the past, discovered that education helped him to flourish—something Hans Stoffregen learned as well.

Pell Grant funding is allowing inmates to be released into civilian life and choose a better lifestyle after. What we should be looking at is the life during and after incarceration. This will then push down the incarceration rate and begin to change the system.

Restoring Pell Grant access to incarcerated students would have a positive impact on culture and public safety, both inside and outside prison walls.

It is not easy to jump back into after being incarnated. Wether receiving help inside or outside of the prison walls there are still many struggles.

More than 700,000 incarcerated individuals leave federal and state prisons and return to local communities where they will have to compete with individuals in those communities for jobs.

Believing in the Pell Grant and allowing it to come back into the prison system might be the best possible outcome for inmates to return to civilian life.

Education Has the capacity to transform. Education can really improve the life of individuals. Everyone should have the right to education and inmates are being denied this right.

My Blogroll: An Explanation

adisonammons

On the side of my blog you will now see a “blogroll”. This contains many differnt links but why is it there?

A blogroll is used to give points of reference outside of my blog. My blogroll will give you many different links and reports on prisons and what they are saying about current topics. In my blogroll you will also find different blogs that relate to issues about prison reform, women in prisons, education in the prison system and much more.

Blog examples on Blogroll:

Prison Fellowship
This blog about prisons is relevant because it shows many different sides of prison life. Throughout the blog posts I viewed thus far it shows a reflection about 9/11 addresses current issues such as higher education in prisons. This blog also talks about reform and what needs to change in the prison system.

Federal Prison Blog
Todd Busset addresses current topics that are timely. He addresses the first step act, different areas and their federal prisons. Most importantly he addresses the money side of things and where its all going. I like the way he links and how relevant his content is. 

Leigh Sprauge
This is relevant to my blog because it is the inside edition of prison life. This blog brings the personal aspect of life. It shows what prison life is like during the experience and what really happens behind bars to a certain extent. 

Blogging Behind Bars
Brings to life the same aspect as the link above just in a different point of view. Having two different prison experiences I think will be useful to look back on. 

Prison Professors
I used this blog as a reference because of content. The way my blog is set up is quite similar to this. The content always talks about relevant topics such as the post about the first step act and addresses trump and his decision to pass this. I can use what Shon is blogging about and be able to relate these topics to my blog. 

Twitter Examples on Blogroll:

Below is an example of a podcast that is about people directly impacted by the prison system.  There is also timely issues that are included about prison system all throughout America.


The Intimate Blogger shows the hardships of prison and the lifestyle that they endure. I think this can be something that i use these blogs to relate to current topics that are going on within the country and relate them to prison life. 

The Prison Fellowship advocacy program gives it all away in title. This has links to women’s issues in prison as well as addressed social media use and higher education. All which are topics I want to address. 

A local reporter, Lacie Pierson, from the Charleston Gazette. She reports on the courtroom and legal affairs which will be timely and relevant. 

Prison Watch It, this can be used to follow new prison facility being built and keeping tabs on people being released. I think this twitter will be useful because it addresses not only issues inside the prison but what happens to inmates after.

Maya talks about how prisons could do better. She writes her own pieces and connects them with real world issues going on within the prisons.

Prisoners Escape- Road Closed Ahead

adisonammons

How did these prisoners escape with no sign of any whereabouts?

A married couple coming together to take down the Marshal as their in route to prison.

After a complaint about a stomach issue, The Barksdales used shoelaces to tie up the guards and placed them in the back of the van with an unidentified third inmate, Gonzales said.

An image of the Barksdales, prior to their escape.

Regardless of how much training a police officer receives the idea of transporting an inmate is still a danger.

How do we assure that incidents like these do not continue to happen? Training, Training, Training!

Training of all officers should follow after the policy is developed. All components of the policy should be addressed in training. Officers should strive to enhance their own safety by adhering to policy guidelines and their training. 

Blane and Susan are still on the loose and are convinced on chargers of murder. Once the group arrived outside of St. Johns, Arizona, the couple switched to a friend’s red GMC Sierra pickup.

Incidents like this continue to happen on a regular basis with the help of the police. Let’s hope Blane and Susan run into a road closed ahead sign, like most prisoners do, before they cause any more havoc.

Incarceration- The Truth Of Overcrowding

adisonammons

How many people is too many people in the prison system? The American Criminal Justice system holds almost 2.3 million.

The war on drugs, tougher sentencing and increasing arrest are just a few of the reasons for overcrowding. For example, overcrowding causing inhuman living conditions for inmates. Many prisons and jails expose prisoners to dangerous environmental conditions like extreme heat or cold, contaminated food and lack of basic sanitation.

First hand, I had the opportunity to tour the Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland, Ohio. Due to overcrowding, inmates were forced to share cells that were originally designed for only one person.

This meant one or multiple inmates had to sleep on a thin pad on the floor. Toilets and sinks were also being shared by multiple people. If one stood, the other had to sit. They could palm both walls without fully extending their arms.The small area lead to odors being trapped inside without proper ventilation.

Brutality Behind Bars

President Donald Trump in July of 2019 passed a bill allowing 3,100 federal inmates to walk out of prison. The mass release- the largest since The First Step Act was signed into law after a rare bipartisan push last year.

Trump allowed drug offenders and weapon violates to be released. While this bill was a great step in the right direction, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the problem of overcrowding. To end mass incarceration, reforms will have to go further than the “low hanging fruit” of nonviolent drug offenses.

So, heres the question I propose to you-

what is the solution for overcrowding?