In 2020, the Marshall Project and Slate Magazine went straight to the source and asked incarcerated people “What Could’ve Kept Me Out of Prison.” First-hand accounts from incarcerated people humanize the system itself and often illustrate the gaps between policy and reality, fostering empathy, and providing concrete data on what works, like education/reentry programs, and what doesn’t, such as harsh, dehumanizing conditions.
These first-hand, authentic accounts have the ability to transform stigmatized individuals into experts, driving policy change by informing legislators, social workers, and the public about needed reforms in housing, employment, and healthcare to reduce recidivism and support successful reintegration, ultimately creating more effective, humane criminal justice systems. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals understand the system’s realities better than anyone, identifying practical problems and proposing effective solutions for reentry, education, and reducing recidivism.
When decision makers centers these voices, policy moves beyond punitive measures to focus on rehabilitation, restoration, and building thriving communities, recognizing that incarcerated individuals will return home and their well-being impacts everyone.
Five years later, many of the responses received remain just as relevant.
Drug treatment programs and affordable housing for sure. But I also feel that you have to want change. So you get what you put in!! – 52 year old in California
To have a mentor who could have told me about the path that I was on. Someone who could have boosted my self-esteem. – 24 year old in Arkansas
After my daughter was killed by a drunk driver back in 1996, I believe grief/loss counseling would have definitely assisted me. – 44 year old in Maine
A job and an affordable place to live, because most people have to work two jobs just to barely keep an apartment. – 44 year old in Washington State
Cheaper college classes. I would’ve been in college instead of outside making mistakes. – 23 year old in Illinois
Read more responses from incarcerated individuals at “What Could Have Kept Me Out of Prison” at the Marshall Project website. The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system.
