Committed to Criminality - Another Statistic Leaves Prison

In the nearly fourteen years that I've been incarcerated, I've heard hundreds of men say the phrase, with sincerity, "I'm never coming back to prison." Some have included, "They'll have to kill me first." Others have insisted they've learned their lesson, that they are done with crime, with addiction, with whatever sent them to prison in the first place. 

Only one man, in the past fourteen years, has ever said to me, "I know I'm coming back to prison. I'm just not done with this life yet." It shocked me to hear it, but I was impressed with his honesty. Too many of the other men who had claimed they'd never be back - they knew deep down they weren't done with their criminal ways, they just couldn't admit it to themselves. 

To be fair, many of the men I've seen leave prison actually did have good intentions to live crime-free lives. They were determined to do the right thing. But then, many of them made a compromising choice, "just one hit," or "just one beer," or "just one night." A single compromise sent them down a path of decision making they never meant to follow again. 

Both addiction and criminal thinking patterns are deeply embedded in some people's minds. It's difficult to root out. Others are simply enamoured with the criminal lifestyle and have no intention, no desire even, to change. 

This past week, I saw another prisoner leave prison on parole. It actually happens very frequently in a level one prison where I am now housed. But this prisoner had been attending Jackson Community College, working towards an associates degree. I respected his desire to do something positive. 

I observed this prisoner in the housing unit, and it was clear that he wasn't quite done with the criminal lifestyle. It wasn't obvious to everyone, but it was clear to me. He still thought like a criminal, but I hoped that his college classes would give him hope for a different life. 

Sadly, this man left prison still determined to live a criminal life. The day before he left prison, he told me a little about the plans he had. He even self-justified. "They can't send me to prison for that," he claimed. Huh. So self-justifying AND delusional. 

It's frustrating to spend more than a decade in prison, hope for freedom and a new beginning filling my heart, only to see men leaving prison who are actively making plans to continue their criminality. It's these prisoners who give returning citizens a bad name. Why should society trust us when some prisoners leave prison fully intending to take advantage of people, to steal, to rob, to sell illegal substances? 

The reality is that most prisoners who parole do not have active plans to commit more crimes like this man did. Most never intend to return to crime. Many do, but they do so because they haven't learned how to change their impulsive behavior. They haven't learned how to pursue their values instead of violating them. They haven't learned how to manage their lives. 

Prison itself does little to teach these skills, so most prisoners are left to their own devices. They have to figure this stuff out on their own, often impeded even by the prison systems itself. Only those who really want to change will find a way. The rest, well, they simply hope they've changed, or like the idiot who left this week, they never intend to. 

Education, character development, addiction recovery...these are all critical to changing prisoners' mindsets and behavior. But none of these will do any good unless a person wants to change. And you simply cannot force a person to want that.