Survivors Guide to Prison Page #9

And that's not an exaggeration.

A 2011 study

from Ohio University

showed that after

spending time in prison,

those continuing to engage

in crime

see their criminal earnings

increase

on an average

by $11,000 a year.

Jody Lewen

is the executive director

of the Prison University

Project.

There are thousands

and thousands of people

in the system.

All they want

is the opportunity

to get a good education

and to be hired by somebody

where they can have a job

where they have meaningful work

and a livable wage.

In the late '80s, early '90s.

There were probably 350 programs

in the prison system nationwide.

[Bruce] I took my dad's advice,

he'd been saying

for a long time, "Look

for some computer training.

Is there any computer training

in there?"

Because he knows, you know?

Finally,

when I get to San Quentin,

I said, "Do you have

any computer training?"

It was great because I mean,

those who know the least

obey the best, you know?

And there's this rebellious

kind of a spirit in there.

They have you under their thumb

up and to the point

of being able to put a bullet

in your head if they wanted to.

Stand still and be quiet.

Face that wall right now.

So there's this rebelliousness.

I could exercise my brain.

They can't stop me

from doing that.

And so we really got this pride

about our education,

particularly in

that computer programming class,

and it was an honor

to be able to fight the system,

as you might say,

by educating each other.

And then seeing me graduate

that eight years later,

my dad was really proud of me.

And our relationship

just blossomed,

just became

so deep and so meaningful.

My dad was everything to me.

And it was just about two weeks

after I graduated

that he died.

Sorry.

Oh, let us stay

Stay true

May we love and listen

And hear our hearts sing

And keep on giving

And may we stay true,

let us stay...

When I sign this crime bill,

we together

are taking a big step toward

bringing the laws of our land

back into line

with the values of our people.

In 1994, Congress passed

the Violent Crime Control

and Law Enforcement Act,

which, among many other things,

barred people in prison

from receiving Pell grants.

Most of those programs folded

almost overnight.

To be realistic, I mean,

unless you're getting

a college education in here,

it's probably not gonna

help you too much.

But if they have skills

such as welding...

welding, on this yard

is just phenomenal.

We've seen guys go through

the welding program,

and they're making 30, $40

an hour out there on the streets

and they're writing letters back

to the instructor over here.

Those are the things

that these guys need.

They need jobs

so they won't be robbing,

stealing, turning to the dope,

you know,

doing the drugs

and that type of thing.

So, that's...

that's what I would change.

Critical reason number one

why people

are ending up in prison

is for lack of, really,

quality educational

opportunity.

Since 1970,

in the state of California,

we've built 22 prisons

and one university.

We literally have more faith

in punishing people

and controlling them violently

than teaching them.

Let's imagine a parent

who raised a child like that.

What would we say about them?

What would we think of them?

We'd think of them as the most

unfit parent imaginable.

Ironically,

we might even call the police.

[sobbing]

[Bruce] By not having

an education,

by not having programs,

by not having positive things

for the guys to do.

It's really about terror

and intimidation

and people basically

fighting for survival

and often committing

extraordinary violence

in order to protect themselves

or to stay safe.

[Tim] It's kind of like

the weak dog in the pack.

If others spot weakness,

they're gonna pounce on you

for a couple of reasons.

You pounce on that guy,

that gives you

a little more status.

So, I had to ask myself,

are you gonna be a victim?

No, I ain't gonna be a victim.

Well, that really only left me

one choice in my mind.

That means I gotta be

the victimizer.

At some point, for some reason,

might be legitimate,

might not be,

someone's gonna test you.

Even if you lose, you're gonna

have to stand up for yourself.

A guy comes over,

and it's your day

to get your package,

and he tries to take

your package from you

that your people sent you,

if you let him do it,

there's gonna be

10 other dudes,

"Oh, yeah, he let that guy

take his package,

I'm gonna go get his TV,"

right down the line

until somebody's after your ass.

And that's not good.

But if you stand up

that first time

and they see you'll stand up

for yourself,

even if you lose,

people will respect that.

"Oh, don't mess with him.

There's easier prey."

"Yeah, but I can get him."

Doesn't matter.

Don't mess with him.

Why do you have to go

and get that guy

and get a couple lumps for it

when he can go get

that guy's stuff over there,

don't cost you nothing.

It usually only has to happen

once or twice

but just as importantly

that you didn't go

to the man for help...

you're gonna be all right.

Now if you're suddenly

thinking,

this isn't so bad, a black eye,

a few scratches,

and you're in the clear,

think again.

The American public in general

has been

so profoundly brainwashed

into thinking

that what we're doing

with our prison system

is somehow normal

or rational or... just,

I find that overwhelming

and exhausting just...

because the more you

spend time in...

inside and the more contact

you have with people

who've been directly affected,

the more depraved

the system appears.

Over 20%,

one out of every five inmates,

are physically attacked

every six months.

I wasn't in San Quentin a week,

and I watched a man die

right next to me.

I watched two guys just walk up

and just stab him to death.

Part of me

wanted to scream in fear.

But I had a bigger fear of,

man,

what would these guys

think about me?

So I pretended like,

man, this ain't nothing.

I wanted

these people's acceptance.

They tell me,

"You know how to make a knife?

Stab that guy there."

And I did.

So instead of getting

a traditional education

or job training,

prison's a great place

to learn how to make a knife

by dropping a razor blade

onto the melted end

of the toothbrush.

[Jody] What happens

when you have vast numbers

of people

in a system like that

or in a location like that

who have medical needs,

mental health needs,

educational needs,

substance abuse,

all of these things.

And there's nobody who really

knows how to handle that,

so violence itself

is often a failure

of communication

or alternatives for coping.

There are all sorts

of complex social pressures

on people to be violent

in prison.

So a lot of the violence

you see in prison is not

an expression of the character

of the people in prison,

it's people reacting

to the situation.

And this is something

so few people understand.

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