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The Crimson Rehabilitation Program - 1993
by Jim Helms, Prisoner of the Drug WarTable of Contents
A - Cover Letter Explaining Need For PlanTo the Reader: Let me introduce myself. My name is Jim Helms. I am a federal inmate convicted of marijuana charges as a first time, non-violent offender, and sentenced to an 18-year non-parolable sentence. Sentenced on January 21, 1993, my sentencing judge allowed me to self-surrender to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. On February 17, 1993, I reported to the Federal Correctional Institution of La Tuna in Anthony, New Mexico. While the prospect of being incarcerated for 18 years was hard to deal with at first, it was the hopeless warehousing of people with no attempt to deal with the cause that really shocked me. The federal prison system is a machine, tailor-made to perpetrate the cycle of crime, not to stop it. It is a Petri dish -- the criminal lifestyle is the bacteria. It is not coincidental that 5 out of 8 prisoners return within 3 months of release. I have spent many months talking to inmates and staff, trying to gain a perspective on a system I will be a part of for half of my remaining life. Several inmates interviewed prior to being released have since returned to prison. Although their stories differ in detail, the basic problems they encountered upon release were almost identical in context -- problems they were totally unprepared to deal with. The program herein presented is the result of a search for credible solutions that might be politically and socially acceptable; a program that would reduce recidivism and perhaps, offer a way for prisoners to pay back society -rather than simply having society pay for them. I respectfully offer this program in an attempt to contribute something positive to society for the wrongs I have done. Indeed, today's federal prison system is a lose/lose proposition, and getting worse every year. As more people are locked up for longer periods of time, they leave families to the welfare system, or worse, while they incur the many costs of incarceration with no possibility of return. If most prisoners merely return to prison, what has been achieved? While it is fashionable in some quarters to deride rehabilitation in favor of retribution, the lack of rehabilitation has resulted in the tremendous explosion of prison populations. This is a problem that must be addressed, and can easily be corrected. The thrust of this program is not forgiveness of violent offenders or those guilty of heinous crimes. Society says they need to be kept away and this is only reasonable. This program is not aimed at the habitual offender who will not accept change. It is aimed at those who come into the system for the first time, where there is a very good chance of keeping them from coming back -- from becoming an integral part of the cycle of crime, incarceration, and recidivism. It is society that pays for crime, then pays the costs of incarceration and even pays for inmates' families' assistance. Then society incurs these costs once again when the offender is released, no better prepared to legitimately deal with society than when first convicted and imprisoned. This does not seem to be the solution that our nation needs. The Crimson Rehabilitation Program is designed so that it is the offender who pays for his crimes, not society. The federal prison system silently destroys two essential human traits: independence and ambition. It needs to address the correlation between hard work and reward. While the rewards of hard work do not necessarily have to be monetary, they have to be real: 5 cents an hour for sweeping bathrooms is neither effective nor helpful if it does not lead to personal improvement. Idle and unfulfilled prisoners turn to other hustles -- tattooing, introducing and selling drugs in the institution, stealing, gambling, scheming -- for income while incarcerated. Ultimately, they carry these habits with them when released. America was built on a certain set of principles that are completely removed in the prison environment. This program attempts to instill these principles in those that need them. In short, this program attempts to instill a work ethic in prisoners which will ultimately benefit both the prisoner and society. And society will no longer bear the total cost of imprisonment. In the time that I have been incarcerated, the percentage of jobs available to unskilled workers has been dropping rapidly. In the last twenty years, the percentage of those jobs has decreased from 50% to 15%. Unskilled workers have fewer and fewer opportunities available above the poverty level. This is a prime reason for the vitality of the drug business, and the overwhelming reason most federal prisoners are incarcerated. It is said that every drug arrest is merely a new job opening. Education, vocational skills and a strong work ethic are the keys to solving this problem. Inmates who develop skills and work habits, along. with a little formal education, will be better able to function at law-abiding' pursuits and avoid becoming another recidivist statistic. Studies have shown that over 60% of released prisoners are rearrested, and 40% return to prison. It has also been statistically shown that education reduces recidivism to 15.5%, and in some states to as low as 1%. These same studies show that inmates who receive 2 years of college have a 10% rearrest rate, compared to over 60% nationwide. The federal prison system offers no alternative to crime, merely warehousing people for increasingly longer periods. Families fall apart, hopes are dashed, and opportunities squandered. Our system makes society pay for prisoners and recurring crime, not the offender. Repeatedly the criminal lifestyle becomes imprinted and the first time offender becomes a permanent fixture of the prison carrousel. This program is aimed towards alleviating these dilemmas as well as additional problems that afflict aspects of our society. Many offenders want and will work for another chance, doing something good for themselves and their communities. This program is designed for those prisoners who want to better themselves, through a desire and ambition to succeed, while earning a place back in society. Many of the ideas presented in this program stress the failure of existing prison systems and recommend the necessity of modifying present policies. The work is of inestimable value in understanding current crime and recidivism problems which, as statistics show, have not decreased in spite of draconian sentences and repeated demands for harsher conditions of confinement. The program will challenge the reader to scrutinize today's troubled situation concerning prisons, and encourage the formulation of new and more rational approaches to a seemingly intractable dilemma. The program compels attention, not only to the increasing problems of the present but to the importance of studying the foreseeable consequences of simply warehousing offenders. The majority of those incarcerated will ultimately be released, and are less prepared to deal with society's demands upon release than they were before being incarcerated. As with all programs, there will be inmates who refuse to participate or commit to self improvement. Those inmates will remain incarcerated under this program. There will always be those who cannot be saved. While there are no easy solutions, it is strongly recommended that all who are concerned about the future safety and welfare of our society consider the alternatives presented here. Tomorrow will come. It is possible to fix this problem before it worsens. If I can be of any assistance whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact me. Respectfully Submitted, Jim D. Helms, 23139-077 |
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