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Prison Education – Is it a Right or a Privilege?

Do you believe that education is right and not a privilege? According to a poll on debate.org, 69 percent of respondents say education is a basic human right, while 31 percent said it is a privilege. Now let’s get a little controversial. Assuming that the majority of Americans see education as a basic right, should it

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Instructional Leadership in Prison Education

Submitted by Peter Zitko Adj. Professor of Political Science at Solano College Different organizational settings require the use of various leadership theory tools. For instance, a military leader on the battlefield may necessarily use a leadership model that is quite different than that of a cleric. In many instances, a specific leadership model does not

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New Federal Study Shows Half of Incarcerated Veterans Have Mental Disorder

By Christopher Zoukis A report compiled by a well-respected prisoner group indicates that while the Massachusetts Department of Corrections is diligent in collecting profits from prisoners’ commissary purchases, it has failed to spend those funds on prisoner benefit purchases, as required by state regulation — to the tune of a $2 million surplus for the

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Corrections Officials Stealing Prisoners’ Identities a Growing Problem

Corrections officials tend to have a single-track mindset: guards oversee prisoners to maintain security and order. But what if the looking glass needs to be reversed, and the jailers must be overseen instead? With identity theft perpetrated by prison and jail employees on the rise, that option must be seriously considered. But who would want

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Technology Boosts Prison Education

Technology use has grown in all aspects of life outside of prisons, including in classrooms. Prison classrooms and communities can also benefit greatly from the use of technology. There are many benefits to using technology within all education systems, including in prison settings. Personalized learning is recognized as being increasingly important to successful outcomes. One

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Prison Tobacco Bans Reduce Smoking-related Deaths

By Chris Zoukis Tobacco use and secondhand smoke kill over 480,000 people in the United States annually. The mortality rate of smokers is three times higher than those who have never smoked, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and smoking reduces an average smoker’s life expectancy by 10 years compared to non-smokers.

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Significant Lack of Mental Health Treatment for United States Prisoners

Mental health disorders are common for prisoners. In fact, according to a 2012 study by the National Institutes of Health, 26 percent of prisoners identified as having a mental health disorder while only 18 percent of the general population identified as having a mental health disorder. While the numbers may not say much, as one

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The Taste of Exploitation: Whole Foods Stops Carrying Products Made by Prisoners

Visit the website for Haystack Mountain, a Colorado-based goat cheese manufacturer, and you will find information about fancy chèvre and other tasty products. The “Our People” section includes profiles of cheesemaker Jackie Chang and other staffers at the 25-year-old company. The site also mentions their incarcerated workers – Colorado prisoners at the Skyline Correctional Center

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Jailhouse Informants’ Testimony Deserves Greater Scrutiny

If you remember the summer of 2001, you’ll recall the name Chandra Levy. She was a 24-year-old graduate student and Federal Bureau of Prisons intern who disappeared on May 1 as she was getting ready to leave Washington, D.C., and return to her family’s home in California. The reason her disappearance flooded the airwaves and

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