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| NAACP to Push for Prison Education |
| By Houston Chronicle |
| Published: 01/27/2003 |
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The NAACP has unveiled a legislative agenda aimed at decreasing recidivism in the Texas prison system by increasing education for inmates. Working with Texas Southern University's Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy Inc., law student JaPaul Kemp compiled statistics showing that over a four-year period, inmates released without receiving any additional education have a 60 percent rate of return to prison. Among inmates who received their high school diplomas while in prison, Kemp's study shows, the recidivism rate drops to 24 percent; with two years of college, the rate drops to 10 percent; and with four years of college education, the recidivism rate drops to 5 percent. Although the announcement came on the heels of Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's prediction of a $9.9 billion shortfall in state revenue, NAACP members and their supporters here believe their program could save the state money. Noting that about 147,000 people are now in Texas prisons at a cost of about $25,000 per prisoner per year, Kemp said her study indicates that over a four-year period, Texas could save as much as $59 million for every 1,000 inmates who complete a college education program. 'When a man leaves the Texas prison system, he should be given a one-way ticket, not a round-trip ticket,' said Dr. Luckett Johnson, president of the NAACP Houston Branch. |
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Do you know someone who has been arrested in Waco or McLennan County? It’s important to find a good Waco lawyer to represent you in the matter involving your own liberty. Look for the best Waco lawyer that you can find. Whether you have been accused rightly or wrongly, it’s important to know your legal rights that concern whether you go to jail.