Tamara Kelly
Staff Writer

The transition from prisoner to parolee for newly released convicts

The consistent state of flux can be an overload of change and a game changer for many of the newly released inmates. But for many the opportunity for creating a better life and making those changes can be highly motivating for them.

Simple situations that many take for granted prove to be thrilling and exciting. For many in transition seeing a Cadillac for the first time, using a modern computer, or even enjoying the beauty of nature, can be viewed as thrilling and exciting. Realizing that their world has been turned upside down can give insight to their plight.

Cedric Mclure, a recent transitioner said, “I was always taught don’t be ashamed of anything you do, to the point of not sharing, and that nobody can’t learn from my mistake.”

Mclure believes that from his experience he learned valuable lessons and is willing to share his insight, in the hopes that it can help others and that they might learn from his past.

As an involved dad he’s working towards his degree and keeps busy with staying active in sports. From being the coach of his daughter’s basketball team to staying informed with Pierce’s athletics. He knows the amount of work and effort it takes to be a successful and productive student on top of being a good member of the community.

“So if you do something hopefully you’re doing it on your own pretense and you’re doing it because you feel it was right.” McClure continued, touching on the idea that we have to choose for ourselves to change.

A huge amount of varied emotions are also part of the process. Being unsure if society will be accepting of a parolee as they move back into that society, that once sent them away, can be an overwhelming amount of emotions. Knowing how to process those emotions can be the difference between becoming a repeat offender and making certain to stay out of jail.

Many programs within the jailhouse walls teach prisoners how to cope and express their feeling in healthy, acceptable, and collaborative methods which, gives them the skills and knowledge  to make better choices out in the world.

While the jails are meant to keep prisoners in, it also has the ability to keep technology, modernism, and world issues out. Limiting inmates to only the standards the penitentiary deems fit. Usually, the offense of the crime molds the type of prison the offender is placed in, however, there are exceptions to the rule and not every prison has the funds to invest in new equipment or programs.

Programs that educate and bring opportunities for growth and change can be determined on which facility an inmate is placed in, and many of them have limited opportunities for reforming programs.

For some inmates utilizing these programs can prove to be the driving force behind their redemption and the transformation that improves their life, perpetuating their choice for change.

One program that the Monroe correctional facility uses is Black Prisoners’ Caucus, Rasheed Thomas’s story is depicted in his own words by the article titled, Understand, Strategize, Implement, & Sincerely Care [U.S.I.S.C] For more info got to www.BlackPrisonersCaucus.org.

For Thomas becoming a critical thinker is how he started transitioning before his release. As a Pierce student he is working towards a degree in business and marketing, which coincides with his thirst for knowledge, all seen by his multitude of earned school certificates.

Thomas points out that while many prisoners are stereotyped as illiterate and uneducated, that’s not at all the truth. Many are highly intelligent, and are only there because they were impulsive and broke the rules to gain what they wanted.

Thomas said, “There is no doubt about it, the system is set up for me to fail, but I still have freedom of choice.”

He continued, “So I still can make my own decisions, and as long as I make the right decision, I know I’ll be alright, and I still have willpower to what I want to do.”