Inmates Raise $100,000 to Purchase Educational Computers
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Inmates in Allegheny County Jail raised over $100,000, which will be used to buy dozens of tablet computers that can be used in the prison.
The tablets will not be connected to the internet, but they will be equipped with programs that will allow inmates to learn skills that they will need for the outside world. Not only will they be able to use educational programs on the tablets, but they will also be able to use workplace applications that can train them for on the job experiences.
The money was raised will be able to purchase 40 tablet computers, and a charity called Jail Education Solutions donated an additional 80 tablets to the prison. It was also reported that no tax money was used for this program.
The tablets are expected to be operational in the prison by early May.
It is important to understand how fallible and corrupt the legal system is when reading stories about people in prison, because many innocent people end up behind bars.
Even among those technically “guilty” of breaking some law, a vast majority (nearly 70% according to some statistics) are peaceful people.
They are so-called nonviolent offenders who don’t belong in prison to begin with, as their “crimes” have no victims. These people are not guilty of any transgression, and they are in fact themselves victims of state violence.
“We’re recreating the internet for them, essentially,” says Brian Hill, the co-founder of Jail Education Solutions.
“This is not new to the correctional facility,” Hill says. “Technology exists in the world, and it’s tough to isolate a place entirely from it. We’re trying to limit the need for contraband by creating greater access in a secure environment.”
This is content that I created for a website that I write for called The Free Thought Project:
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/inmates-pa-prison-raise-100000-buy-tablets-self-education/
(sources for article are hyperlinked at the site above)
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John Vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. He also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non-fiction writers. John is currently battling cancer , and will be working to help others through his experience, if you wish to contribute to his treatments consider subscribing to his podcast to support at https://www.patreon.com/johnvibes
Awesome post. The massive expansion of the incarcerated population has occurred primarily by throwing nonviolent offenders behind bars, so I appreciate your point about victimless crimes. Likewise the defunding of prison job skills programs (and rehabilitation programs more generally), has made prisons and jails into overcrowded warehouses. The outcomes for inmates who have access to skills training and other social programs is clear in the social science research-- they fare significantly better upon re-entry-- but despite this, these practices were on the decline for decades.
Despite the horrific and dire situation of mass incarceration, stories like these are very inspirational. How were they able to raise the money?
Give a man a fish or teach a man to fish? I think we know which one works best.
I appreciate to your motivational post...I am inspire from post..Carry on my friend. .