海角大神

When Edward Maxwell III arrived at Arizona鈥檚 Lewis prison near Phoenix, he nearly hit rock bottom. The job assigned to the man convicted of first-degree murder was raking 鈥� rocks.

The task befit the hopeless place, where in 2004, Lewis inmates held two officers hostage for 15 days, the longest such standoff in United States history.

But that was then.

Today, the head of Arizona corrections says violence inside state prisons has sharply decreased, and released inmates are less likely to return to prison. It鈥檚 the result of a new public policy innovation, Arizona officials say, that begins preparing prisoners for reentry to society from their first day in prison. Arizona鈥檚 鈥淕etting Ready鈥� program is garnering nationwide attention, as states face skyrocketing incarceration and release rates.

鈥淵ou start to think about your future more and what you can offer your family, your community, and even the people you victimized,鈥� says Mr. Maxwell in a telephone interview. He has been in prison for 22 years and will be eligible for parole in 2011.

Before Getting Ready, prisoners had no autonomy, says Dora Schriro, director of Arizona Corrections, a system of some 38,000 inmates in 10 prison complexes. They were told when to eat, when to sleep, and not helped to develop positive pastimes. They were ill-prepared to reenter society.

鈥淎 good inmate [was someone] who sits in their bunk, follows orders, never talks back. A bad ex-offender will lay on the bed, doesn鈥檛 get a job.鈥� Someone who doesn鈥檛 learn how to use leisure time,鈥� Ms. Schriro says.

Getting Ready upends those expectations, she says. Within one week of entry, inmates receive a needs assessment and individualized corrections plan. They鈥檙e expected to participate in work or education, self-development, and restorative-justice activities seven days a week. Benefits are tied to accomplishing goals.

Implemented in 2004 with significant input from correctional officers, community members, and prisoners, Getting Ready creates a 鈥減arallel universe鈥� in prison, reflecting as much of the outside world鈥檚 challenges and opportunities as possible.

鈥淚 wake up and think, 鈥榊eah 鈥� I get to go to work today, and work in a harmonious atmosphere,鈥� 鈥� says Maxwell, who now maintains the program鈥檚 roster for the prison. Having a prison job isn鈥檛 unusual. But Maxwell wakes himself up, and chooses whether he wants to go to breakfast. No one else does that for him, or any of the prisoners.

Privileges gained through work, education
As prisoners complete the goals outlined in their assessment, they accrue stature, responsibility, and increased opportunities.

鈥淎s you get your GED [high school equivalency degree], like in your world and in mine, you can apply for jobs that are closed to you if you don鈥檛 have a GED,鈥� Ms. Schriro says.

Choose not to get an education? Your wages are frozen at entry level. Complete substance abuse treatment and cultural awareness workshops? You get more privileges at the canteen, visits where family members can bring in food, and other perks.

Criminal Justice consultant Gerry Gaes recently visited four of Arizona鈥檚 prison complexes as part of a Harvard Kennedy School innovations awards program. Getting Ready is a finalist. What鈥檚 innovative, Mr. Gaes says, is the intensity with which the graduated system of incentives is implemented. 鈥淚鈥檝e never seen it done to the point it鈥檚 done there,鈥� he says, citing the opportunity for families to bring in home-cooked meals. 鈥淚t could introduce contraband. They take a risk in doing that, but the inmates clearly enjoy it.鈥� [Editor's note: The original version misspelled Mr. Gaes's first name.]

In 2004, Schriro faced budget cuts and a prison population up 17 percent. Getting Ready was implemented without any new funds. Instead, corrections staff received additional training and rearranged their schedules for expanded services and hours.

In other states, 鈥淚f [prisoners] are lucky, they鈥檒l get one service,鈥� says Amy Solomon, a criminal justice expert with the Urban Institute, a think tank in Washington. Often that treatment is self-help, like Alcoholics Anonymous.

Prisoners often have multiple challenges. More than two-thirds have 鈥渟ubstantial鈥� substance-abuse histories. Many have spotty employment records and serious health issues, Ms. Solomon says.

America鈥檚 growing prison population
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), some 1.5 million sentenced inmates were under state or federal jurisdiction in 2007, a four-fold increase since 1980. That growth has made meeting the various challenges of inmates difficult, Solomon says.

鈥淭he thought was always that they were locking up bad people and keeping them away,鈥� Solomon says. 鈥淏ut about a decade ago or so, people realized that 95 percent are coming back and we鈥檒l have to do something different.鈥�

About two-thirds of the 650,000 inmates released from prison each year will be arrested again within three years, according to the BJS.

Last April, Congress passed the 鈥淪econd Chance Act,鈥� authorizing some $360 million for prisoner reentry programs. Getting Ready, which Gaes says is replicable, is among those commanding attention.

It already boasts powerful results: 75 percent of inmates in the program have a GED. Inmate-on-inmate assault is down more than one-third. Inmate-on-staff assault is down by more than half. Drug use, suicide, and rape are also down.

The recidivism rate is less than 2 percent for some 3,000 inmates who have completed the program in its entirety since 2004.

Donna Hamm, executive director of Middle Ground Prison Reform Inc., a prisoner-advocacy organization in Tempe, Ariz., says its premature to declare Getting Ready a success, and that these statistics mask real trouble in Arizona prisons including continued violence and gang activity.

"I see an attempt to gloss over very serious institutional problems ... to appear the department [of corrections] is making great strides," Ms. Hamm says.

Hamm says she'd like to see the program undergo a formal program evaluation by a university or independent institution, and focus on other indicators of success.

Prison problems don't "get erased by having your own alarm clock or choosing to go to breakfast [which is] inconsequential if you fear for your life in prison," she says.

But Lewis correctional officer Christina Duran says the program ushered in a sea change in the place she once considered 鈥渁n undeclared state of war.鈥�

鈥淲e kept them locked down and did everything for them. They started to rely on us heavily, and there was resentment from staff who had to force them to do things,鈥� she says.

Today, 鈥淲hen I hit that yard, I have so many 鈥榞ood mornings鈥� I can鈥檛 keep up with them,鈥� she says, attributing the environment to inmates enjoying the chance to be adults.

Maxwell, who hopes to be a writer upon release, says he鈥檚 ready to be an adult outside prison walls.

鈥淚鈥檓 responsible for my own actions,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou can earn something by doing it the natural way, and that鈥檚 by showing up day in and day out and involving everyone else in the process.鈥�