Ohio Prisons Director Gary Mohr is working to reduce the number of inmates trapped in the revolving door between prison and society by shifting the focus of our corrections operations to education & job training and moving Ohio’s prison system in a positive, new direction. The News-Herald has more below in this editorial:
Gary Mohr has a plan.
No one could ever accuse the state’s director of prisons of being a status-quo kind of guy.
No, Mohr is plunging head-first into what he says is an overhaul of the state’s prison system, creating a “tiered” system that puts prisoners to work and forces them to prove they’re ready for life on the outside.
Mohr said the first tier, or lowest, would manage low-risk inmates working as truck drivers or in light manufacturing.
“I want to put these inmates to work,” Mohr told The Columbus Dispatch.
Middle-tier inmates would be in transitional facilities while taking part in educational, training and community re-entry programs. The highest tier would be reserved for the most serious offenders, including those serving life terms.
And
Mohr’s goal is to have fewer inmates in the state’s residential prison population, which would save the state millions per year.
We’re inclined to think that Mohr’s on to something here.
Most of the prisons in Ohio have the word “correctional” in their name — meaning there is some sort of behavior modification expected. The goal of the prisons is rehabilitation, which implies change, too.
Mohr’s advocating a system that takes those convicted of crimes and puts them on a different path. They’ll be working or being educated, preparing to live different lives once their punishment is completed.
It’s hard to argue with a system that has as its goal the improvement of lives — and could save the state money to boot.
You can read the entire editorial here.
Please stop the nonsense. You are going to pay for an education and other goodies that most good paying citizens can not afford. For gods sake they are in jail!!! Treat them like it. Maybe then they will not do the crime again. Make them farm for their food and produce the clothes on their backs and work for their boarding while they are there. Make the prisons self sustaining so the tax payers do not have yet another burden due to leader stupidity. There should not be smoking in jail, junk food, or any other item you can get outside. After all they are a priviledge. Call me I will head it up for you!!!!! I need a job right now. God loving tax paying citizen.