Not everyone who goes to prison is devoted to a life of crime.
Among the more famous cases of one-time prison inmates who reformed is that of Tim Allen, the comedian and actor starring now in the sit-com "Last Man Standing." He went to prison on a drug trafficking conviction, then emerged to build a career in television and movies.
What’s the point?
Northwest Arkansas will be best served by creating a path in which state prisoners can ease back into life with job skills and life training.
But let's not pretend Allen's good fortune is sitting there ready to be claimed by the next prison parolee. Life in prison is tough. Life beyond prison can be even tougher. In prison, every step is choreographed by the rules of the institution, whether it's what to eat or when to shower or how to dress. After release, an ex-con has certain rules to follow to help ensure he's abiding by the law, but beyond those minimal expectations, what exactly are former prisoners supposed to do with their lives?
The "system" releases them, but to what? Many have few options and end up going back to the places and the people they are familiar with. That's often an environment that helped lead them to bad decisions in the past. Jobs are hard to come by. It's hard to trust a convicted felon, right? A lot of opportunities evaporate as soon as their status as felons is exposed.
Although they've done their time in prison, it often seems the punishment is never ending.
Is that just the way it is? Is it a case of "you made your bed, now lie in it?" Naturally, some people simply are not willing to give a convict a second chance. But society cannot keep demanding its pound of flesh. Our communities have a choice: Give felons a chance to rebuild their lives after prison or be content to watch many of them slide back into criminal behaviors.
Forget for a moment what's best for them and ponder this: What's best for our communities?
A group of people have relaunched the Northwest Arkansas Re-entry Coalition, an organization that envisions Northwest Arkansas as a home for a future state-approved "re-entry" center. The idea is to give prisoners nearing their release a place to stay as the acclimate to life outside of prison. With counseling and job training, such centers can increase the odds that a released inmate can avoid a return ticket to the penitentiary. In successful scenarios, our communities gain a productive person who is contributing to Northwest Arkansas' success.
In theory it sounds outstanding. But where would you put a re-entry center? It's a great idea until it's proposed near some neighborhood or down the street from a business. The theory is chunked out the window.
The only problem with that is that it doesn't solve a problem. Rather, it just exacerbates one.
Sheriff Tim Helder in Washington County has been vocal in trying to convince people of the benefits of training prisoners, of giving them skills necessary for anyone to make it on their own. Let's not forget that some of these prisoners simply never had someone to teach them those skills. Others were not mature enough to grasp the need for them, but may be most motivated to make changes in their lives after a stint in prison.
And what's best for our communities is to help change an ex-con into a person whose mistakes are in their past, not their future.
"We have got to help people get on their feet, or we can't fix this, and that's going to take a community approach," Helder said recently.
We commend those advocates who are busy working to press for chances through Northwest Arkansas Re-Entry Coalition. They will need the help of landlords and employers in giving returning prisoners a chance to improve their lives and the future of the region. We hope Arkansas policymakers can lend a hand by adopting measures to ensure a debt paid through a prison term doesn't have to become an albatross slung around one's neck for life.
Commentary on 11/24/2015