by Allison Moore

Created on: June 26, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Is there an alternative to our present prison system? There is. We just have not had the overhaul necessary to create a more effective one. I know. I've spent time there. Many have the idea that criminals go to prison and are afforded great opportunities for a new life. I've asked quite a few about their perspective of criminals, their behavior and the idea of prison as punishment and reform, and what many fail to realize is that the overcrowding prison system itself serves as fuel to the cycle it is created to cease. It is merely a holding place with little hope of being effective standing alone. The life typically hardens inmates who often leave worse than they were when they were first committed. The prison population forces long waiting lists and inapt programs with a quick fix approach to deep rooted problems. There is little focus on core criminal behavior which resides in the criminal mind, no focus on real life skills or the tools to cope with life after confinement. "Three hots and a cot" is the term for prison which suggests a lax

environment, a place to sleep and three hot meals a day. Although confined, prisoners have little responsibility, they don't wash their own clothes, cook their own meals and they take directions on what to do and when to do it.

I personally spent a year and a half in a State Correctional Facility and can tell you that there needs to be a change. You work for about 20 cents an hour, and although your job detail is not what one would choose as a vocation, it is by no means hard labor. You can have a unit detail, clean the bathroom once in the morning and still get paid for 8 hours. If you are lucky enough to get into a training program, count it all joy. Most waiting lists are too long and if your sentence is less than 2 years you can hang it up. If you don't have a GED or High School diploma, you are required to attend...just show up. You don't have to pass. All the hours of the day is spend playing cards, yard to play sports or walk the track, reading books, writing letters, getting your hair done or doing hair if you are skilled, completing your commissary slip for the next week and traveling to and from the dining hall. If you are lucky enough to have family buy you a TV, you can lay in bed all day and watch your favorite shows with cable for $15 a month. In the women's prison, if you choose you can have a girlfriend to occupy your time, build friendships and create relationships. For the inmate that has no family or

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