Prison Reform

I have an idea that may sound radical or ridiculous, but if it were at all possible to pull off, I believe it has the potential to bring business and jobs to Ohio, reduce the state debt, increase the tax revenue, reduce the rate of recidivism, provide a new paradigm of thought regarding criminal justice and revolutionize the state prison system.

The whole premise of my plan rests in the belief that when a person commits a crime and serves time in prison for that crime, they HAVE NOT repaid their debt to society. The statement “he paid his debt to society” is both inaccurate and offensive to the society to whom this debt was supposedly paid. The whole society is impacted by crime, so in one sense, the criminal has created a “debt” to that society. The greater truth is that he committed a crime against certain persons in that community, and the real debt he owes is to the victim (but that is another subject that should be addressed as well). Incarcerating a criminal in a county, state or federal prison system does not, in any way, repay that debt. In fact, it is the very OPPOSITE. The criminal, once incarcerated, is now continuing to pile up debt to the society because under the current system the tax payers are forced to provide the funds to feed, house, clothe, reform, recreate, educate, medicate, adjudicate and guard the prisoner. So, after raping the treasury that the hard-working citizens have stored up, he is then released having been said to “paid his debt to society”. Really? He has likely incurred a greater debt to society once incarcerated than what he did by his criminal activity. According the the stats I found, each prisoner costs that state approx. $25,000/yr (I don't know the exact figures). If my source was correct, I believe the cost to the state budget is approximately $1.5Billion/yr. If one criminal is in prison for 10 years, he will cost the state's tax payers 1/4 million dollars.

Under the current penal system, justice is never served because true justice implies that something has been made right, put back, given back or restored to its rightful place. The ones who were the victims were repaid. This is the biblical prinicipal found throughout the Bible.

-- New Living Translation

Leviticus 6:4-5 If they have sinned in any of these ways and are guilty, they must give back whatever they have taken by theft or extortion, whether a security deposit, or property entrusted to them, or a lost object that they claimed as their own, or anything gained by swearing falsely. When they realize their guilt, they must restore the principal amount plus a penalty of 20 percent to the person they have harmed.

MY IDEA: Have the state create a system that would allow private companies to partner with the prison system to employ prisoners in "real" jobs that actually produce profit for the company and wages for the prisoner. Companies could build warehousing or manufacturing plants within the secure borders of the prison system and have a combination of free citizens and prisoners employed in a secure environment.

• The prisoner is trained and goes to work at the work facility just as he would a job on the “outside”, and gets paid a fair wage by the company (the wage would naturally be reduced because of risk). The money earned by the prisoner is managed by the prison system and can be used for a variety of expenses including: payment for the cost of incarceration (food, clothes, housing, medical, legal, education, security, etc.), repayment to the victims, and a small portion could be set aside as a savings account to get a fresh start upon release.
• The prisoner benefits because he is able to live a productive life, rather than just being "warehoused" for his prison term. He is able to pay for his own debt. He learns to take responsibility. Under the current system, the criminal NEVER has to take responsibility for his actions. It is all paid for by someone else (taxpayers). He learns job and life skills that he can take with him after his sentence is served. He is able to save money for starting a fresh life on the outside. A prisoner who works off his debt should be able to significantly reduce his sentence relative to another who is not working.

• The state and local governments benefit because the bottom line of the budget grows. There is lower cost to the taxpayers for the prisoners in each of these facilities. They are helping to pay for their own crimes and for their own “punishment”. Even if a large tax incentive is given to the company, the tax base grows if the company relocates to the prison site. Local utilities and services increase to serve the facility. Managers and executives relocate to the area creating more tax revenue.

• The company benefits because the companies who take this risk should be able to produce products at a much lower cost, which should result in increased profits. There should be significant tax incentives for businesses that are willing to take this risk. The cost for each “employee” who is also a prisoner should be significantly less than the average employee of the company. Hiring prisoners is a risk, and it should be compensated by higher profits.

• The community benefits because local communities would share in the tax revenues from the business and from the additional employees necessary to run the business and the additional security staff. Re-entry job training is already taken care of and paid for by the prisoner himself, not the taxpayers.

PILOT PROGRAM:
• A pilot program could be established to see if it is feasible.
• In our hometown, Lima, Ohio, there is a state prison that was closed by Governor Taft. This would be an excellent location for such a program.

Many details, many legal hurdles, and many smart people needed...but I think it would make Ohio's prison system the best in the country.