JOHN KIRIAKOU: One Thing Trump Got Right
February 23, 2021
The former president pushed for passage of - and then signed into law - a
measure that lifted a 26-year ban on giving prisoners federal education aid.
President Donald Trump congratulates former inmates who have benefited from
prison reform legislation, April 1, 2019. (White House, Joyce N. Boghosian)
By John Kiriakou
Special to Consortium News
As crazy as it sounds, Donald Trump's enduring policy legacy could be one of
true prison reform. His move came after years - decades even - of Democratic
and Republican presidents and lawmakers all ignoring the educational and
training needs of incarcerated Americans, which worsened their lives once
they were released.
You'll get no argument out of me about Trump's four years as president being
a disaster of historic proportions. He wrecked our relationships with
allies around the world, divided our country, instigated violence and
covered for his friends and family members. But even a broken clock is
right twice a day.
One thing that most Americans didn't realize was that Trump pushed for
passage of - and then signed into law - a measure that lifted a 26-year ban
on giving prisoners federal education aid.
Called the Second Chance Pell Grant, the new program funnels tuition
assistance to about 12,000 prisoners through 134 colleges and universities.
In a momentary flash of brilliance, Trump had asked Congress in April 2020
to make the program permanent, that is, not subject to a congressional
"sunset provision," where a law automatically expires after a period of
time.
The programs that prisoners apply for must meet three criteria for federal
aid. First, they must provide credentials needed for jobs that are in high
demand and that are not closed to those with criminal records. Second, they
must offer credits easily transferrable to another college or university so
that the prisoner doesn't hit a higher-education "dead end" if he or she is
released before finishing a degree. And third, they must include "reentry
services" to help prisoners navigate housing, employment and other
"treatment" upon release.
Graduates of a program aimed at helping former inmates re-enter society
applaud a speech by President Donald Trump, Feb. 20, 2020, Las Vegas. (White
House, Shealah Craighead)
So why give federal aid - taxpayers' money - to prisoners? Because it keeps
them out of prison in the future, which, in the long run, actually saves the
taxpayers millions of dollars, while improving employment opportunities,
strengthening families and communities, and making all of us safer.
Reduced Rates of Recidivism
Research recently published by the Rand Corporation showed that
participation in prison education programs reduced recidivism rates by a
whopping 43 percent, so that, "for every tax dollar spent on prison
education, taxpayers saved five dollars in reincarceration costs." I'll
take that deal any day.
When I was in prison, from 2013 until 2015, after blowing the whistle on the
CIA's torture program, there were literally no educational opportunities in
prison. Having finished my PhD coursework in international affairs, I told
me "counselor" when I arrived in prison that I was happy to teach a class,
whether in the GED program or elsewhere. My counselor's response was, "If I
wanted you to teach a fucking class, I'd ask you to teach a fucking class!"
I didn't teach a class.
Other prisoners did teach, though. One pedophile taught a class on
gardening, even if nobody could actually do gardening. There were multiple
classes in knitting and crochet. There was a class in creative writing
taught by a pedophile who had never been published. There was a class
called "The History of Western Film," which was actually about Westerns that
were not a part of the prison video collection. And scam artists were
allowed to teach classes on how they carried out their scams. Seriously.
These classes contributed nothing. They improved the plight of no one. They
prepared no one for life outside of prison. It's no wonder that recidivism
is as high as it is.
I look at this situation the way my grandparents viewed their own emigration
to the United States. You always want the next generation to do better than
you did. Prisoners last year were released at the end of their sentences
with no marketable skills. The next group will be released with college
degrees, or at least they will have completed classes toward a degree.
Perhaps the generation after that won't go to prison in the first place.