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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Why not make visiting prisoners easier in Texas?

By Scott Henson of Grits For Breakfast

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English teacher John Crisp from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi recounts a recent trip to a South Texas prison to visit a young man who'd violated his probation on a marijuana charge. While he respected the need for rules and restrictions, he said, "I wonder if visitors aren't worked over with a little more attitude than is called for?" Read Crisp's account of the visit, which tracks pretty closely with my own experience, then somebody please tell me the answer to this teacher's central question:

why not make visiting easy, rather than difficult, since lack of interested human contact is already a significant contributor to many prisoners' incarcerations?

This isn't some bleeding heart concern; facilitating family visits for prisoners significantly helps reduce future crime and improves inmate behavior while they're incarcerated. The New York Times reported today that "several recidivism studies have found that convicts who keep in touch with family members through visits and phone privileges are less likely to violate their parole or commit new offenses."

Why discourage such contact when logic and evidence tells us family visits help reduce recidivism and improve public safety?

Pegasus News content partner - Grits For Breakfast

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Comments

quakerman Anonymous

TDCJ cracks down on visitors instead of staff pretending that the visitors are the ones doing the smuggling of contraband. If they cracked down on staff, they would lose staff, and they are already shothanded.

2 years, 3 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

McCool Anonymous

Anonymous is right most contraband is brought in by guards and other prison employees.

What has happened to family values in America? The drug war tries to destroy families and does destroy the family value of practicing health safety.

I taught my children that their bodies are the temples of their souls. However, when my children became young adults I told them the truth about drugs. Including that marijuana or cannabis is a safer health choice in a recreational drug but the collateral damage from arrest can be devastating and life long." http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm

"Save the children from Prohibition," was a slogan used to end alcohol prohibition. Punishing children or adults for making a safer health choice today is absolute madness. Again, we need to save the children, this time from drug prohibition's collateral damage.

Abstinence from recreational drugs is safest for all, especially youth but few will choose it. Parents do need to set an example for their children. However, most parents who use drugs and alcohol do not abuse them. They are responsible drug users, especially marijuana users as it is the safest choice.

Effective drug education based on medical science builds student's confidence to make informed responsible choices. Present policy falsehoods and scare tactics undermine our credibility. We want to encourage drug free behavior not awaken their curiosity. Truth, trust and reason encourage open communications between youth, parents and faculties.

Restore justice in the world; construct science based drug policies about saving and rehabilitating instead of ruining lives. Warriors can get their adrenaline rush increasing public safety; chasing murderers and violent sexual predators. Support for the war on drugs is inconsistent with support for individual freedom, Constitutional, small government and the teachings of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

You might be interested to know that McCool recently finished her two yearly awarded portraits dedicated to the freedom philosophy or the American dream. Colleen calls it the, "Rebel with Just Cause Award." It is given to true American patriots; those who stand for freedom against tyranny and injustice. The Dixie Chicks for their 2006 documentary called, "Shut Up and Sing" and Joe Frederick for the media blitz created by the banner "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" are recipients of the 2007 Rebel With Just Cause Award. Both free portrait awards this year are about freedom of speech. http://mccoolportraits.com/2007rebelw...

Cindy Sheehan founding member of the Gold Star Families for Peace & the Camp Casey Peace Institute and Howard Wooldridge of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition were the recipients of the 2006 Rebel with Just Cause Award! http://mccoolportraits.com/rebelwithj...

Available exclusively on http://mccoolportraits.com/LatestDrug... Drugs, sex and politics; a national shame! by Ma Freedom

2 years, 3 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

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