Why We Should Let Prisoners Take College Courses

“Education was once an integral part of prison life. In the early 1980s, there were 350 college degree programs for prisoners nationwide. It was part of the “rehabilitative era.” School buildings in prisons were like satellite campuses of colleges, and federal and state grants paid prisoners’ tuitions. But the following years brought unemployment, crack cocaine, the Willie Horton debacle and tough-on-crime rhetoric.”