Byler Nails It In Today's DNR Open Forum

 A longer version of this piece appeared in 
the January 2 Richmond Times-Dispatch.

J. Daryl Byler is executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at EMU.

When my family lived in Mississippi, we hosted several inmates as part of a Prison Fellowship program designed to prepare prisoners to transition back to their communities.

During these two-week homestays, the prisoners focused on giving back — working with Habitat for Humanity and speaking in schools, for example. I was surprised by how many of the soon-to-be released inmates were eager to encourage young students not to make the same mistakes that had landed them in prison.

Indeed, formerly incarcerated persons who have learned hard lessons are potentially some of the most effective mentors for youth. We could do more to benefit from their life experiences.

Congress recently approved a criminal justice reform bill that will reduce the sentences for many nonviolent offenders and cut recidivism rates by reducing the barriers prisoners face in rejoining their communities in productive ways.

But the “First Step Act” applies only to the small sliver of persons (about 180,000) incarcerated in the U.S. federal system. Nearly two million more are incarcerated in state prisons and local jails.

Virginia lawmakers have the opportunity to act creatively to make changes that not only save money, but that contribute to the well-being of communities across the commonwealth.

Virginia is already on a good path. It has the lowest recidivism rate in the nation — 22.4 percent.

There are currently 125,000 elderly prisoners incarcerated in the United States — at a cost of $16 billion per year. Without dramatic changes in sentencing and parole policies, that number could grow to 400,000 by 2030 — at a cost of more than $50 billion per year. An American Civil Liberties Union report finds “that states on average will save $66,294 per aging prisoner released per year, even if those prisoners rely on public assistance for support upon release.”

Certainly Virginia and other states can use these funds in more creative and cost-effective ways to build just and sustainable communities.

Of course there are risks in paroling prisoners. But we should not overlook the many contributions that formerly incarcerated men and women have to make to society.

Tyrone Werts, who served 36 years of a life sentence, is one example of a formerly incarcerated person now having a big impact on his community. Now in his 70s, Werts works with The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program in Philadelphia to bring together incarcerated and nonincarcerated people “for transformative learning experiences that invite participants to take leadership in addressing crime, justice, and other issues of social concern.”

At 593 per 100,000 people, the United States incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than every country in the world except El Salvador. By comparison Germany and Japan incarcerate 75 and 41 per 100,000, respectively.

We can do better! Incarcerating so many people is not good for budgets or for building communities that grow by learning from mistakes.