Pat Nolan
October 1, 2004
 

"America is the land of the second chance -- and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life." President Bush, State of the Union 2004

This year, more than 600,000 inmates will be released from the United States' prisons. These prisoners aren't being released early; they have completed their sentences, and will be returning to neighborhoods across the country. These men and women are coming out, like it or not. 

What kind of neighbors will these returning inmates be? What has been done to prepare them to live healthy, productive, law-abiding lives? Each of us has a stake in seeing that these men and women make a safe and successful return. Yet, today very little is being done to prepare them make that transition successfully.

Most offenders will be returning from years in overcrowded prisons where they were exposed to the horrors of violence including homosexual rape, isolation from family and friends and despair. Most are idle in prison; warehoused with little preparation to make better choices when they return to the free world. Just one-third of all released prisoners will have received vocational or educational training before they are released.

Further, little is done to change the moral perspective of offenders. Most inmates do not leave prison transformed into law-abiding citizens; in fact, the very skills inmates develop to survive inside prison make them anti-social when they are released.

If we do not prepare these inmates for their return to the community, the odds are great that their first incarceration will not be their last. The statistics tell the story. A recent study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that two-out-of-three released inmates were arrested again within three years, victimizing more innocents in the process. Over the last 20 years, the rate of rearrest has hovered stubbornly around 67 percent.

However, it does not have to be this way. Fortunately, there are proven ways to increase the likelihood that inmates will return safely to our communities. There are many things that the community, and particularly churches, can do to help offenders make the transition from prison life to freedom successfully.

Recently a bipartisan group of U.S. House of Representatives members introduced legislation to focus resources and attention on preparing inmates to live healthy, productive, law-abiding lives after they are released. A group of congressmen, led by Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, are sponsoring the Second Chance Act of 2004.

The legislation has the support of a diverse coalition that includes the American Center for Law and Justice, the Salvation Army, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and the American Corrections Association.

The legislation seeks to create safer communities and reduce recidivism by focusing on four areas that are critical to safe and successful re-entry: jobs, housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment and strengthening families. The bill appropriates $112 million for these efforts over the next two years -- less than $100 for each of the felons that will be released in that period. That is infinitely less than the system will spend arresting, trying and imprisoning them if they return to commit another crime.

A key part of this legislation is a program to recruit mentors for prisoners. Moving from the very structured environment of prison, in which they had virtually no control over any aspect of their lives, an inmate's return to the free world presents them with a myriad of options and temptations. Such basic decisions as where to sleep, where to seek employment, and with whom to associate confront them the minute they hit the street.

Studies have shown that one of the most important factors in successful reentry is a relationship with a mentor who will walk alongside the returning offender as they make the difficult transition back into the community. They need the love, advice, and encouragement of a mentor. And they need someone to hold them accountable.

Those who do nothing to change this system are condemning our communities to a continuing cycle of arrest, incarceration, release and re-arrest. As President Bush said, "We know from long experience that if they can't find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit more crimes and return to prison". We cannot afford to continue to send offenders back to their communities with so little preparation. These policies of returning inmates with little preparation has already harmed too many victims, destroyed too many families, and overwhelmed too many communities.

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"We cannot continue to have the corrections system exist the way it does now." Washington Times

Pat Nolan is the President of Justice Fellowship, the public policy arm of Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministries. He served for 15 years in the California State Assembly, four of those as the Assembly Republican Leader. 

Pat is a much sought after speaker on issues of justice and faith. He was selected by Governor Geringer of Wyoming to be the speaker at his annual prayer breakfast in 2002, and has testified on several occasions before Congressional committees on prison work programs, juvenile justice and religious freedom. He has also lectured at judicial conferences and legal conventions. 

His opinion pieces have appeared in numerous periodicals including the Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal and the Washington Times. He is a frequent guest on talk shows, including Hannity and Colmes, Fox Network News, Michael Reagan and Ollie North.

Pat is the sixth of nine children, and was born and raised in Southern California.  He earned both his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and his Juris Doctorate at the University of Southern California.  He also rode as Tommy Trojan, USC’s mascot in the 1974 Rose Parade.  Pat and his wife, Gail, have three children: Courtney, 15; Katie, 14 and Jamie, 10.  The Nolans live in Leesburg, Virginia and are members of the St. John the Apostle Parish.
 

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