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Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

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Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#2
> The Last Mile’s program is defying the country’s 83 percent recidivism rate. In its 10 years existence, there has been zero recidivism amongst it’s nearly 100 graduates, graduates that include Jason Jones.

Those numbers tell you everything you need to know. They're not "solving mass incarceration" any time soon.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#4

> The Last Mile’s program is defying the country’s 83 percent recidivism rate. In its 10 years existence, there has been zero recidivism amongst it’s nearly 100 graduates, graduates that include Jason Jones. Those numbers tell you everything you need to know. They're not "solving mass incarceration" any time soon.

>the country’s 83 percent recidivism rate

Holy shizz, that's a lot. It's as if US laws and prisons aren't there to rehabilitate an individual but to turn him against society for good, making him a returning "customer" so that certain interest groups can keep profiting. But that's just probably my imagination running wild.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#5

> The Last Mile’s program is defying the country’s 83 percent recidivism rate. In its 10 years existence, there has been zero recidivism amongst it’s nearly 100 graduates, graduates that include Jason Jones. Those numbers tell you everything you need to know. They're not "solving mass incarceration" any time soon.

Quite possibly they are educating people out of the 17% that would not be re-offenders.

However, is is bloody obvious that if a person cant survive/earn money legally, they will do so illegally - so the system of 'justice' is just an offence to the senses cause it causes more crime.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#6
In 2011-2014 I taught English and mathematics as a volunteer in a prison, and unless you’ve been there, nothing can prepare you for how truly awful America’s prison system is. The federal system is a little better, but when you get down to state prisons it gets exponentially worse.

In my humble opinion, we have a vengeance and retribution mentality towards prisons in this country, when we should have a rehabilitation and re-integration focus.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#7

> The Last Mile’s program is defying the country’s 83 percent recidivism rate. In its 10 years existence, there has been zero recidivism amongst it’s nearly 100 graduates, graduates that include Jason Jones. Those numbers tell you everything you need to know. They're not "solving mass incarceration" any time soon.

It's especially strange to me to see such future-blind thinking in the message board of the world's most famous startup accelerator.

The Last Mile's website (https://thelastmile.org/about/) lists not 100 graduates, but 240 "returned citizens" who have successfully rejoined society, still with a 0% recidivism rate. This article said they only have 100 or so graduates, and the article was published in January of last year.

Assuming the article's graduates are the same thing as the website's returned citizens, that means that The Last Mile has managed to produce about 1.4 times more graduates in the past year than in the entire previous 10 years combined.

Healthy skepticism is healthy, but to dismiss this program's meteoric rise, huge potential, and noble cause without even a cursory attempt to understand them is being intentionally obtuse.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#8

> The Last Mile’s program is defying the country’s 83 percent recidivism rate. In its 10 years existence, there has been zero recidivism amongst it’s nearly 100 graduates, graduates that include Jason Jones. Those numbers tell you everything you need to know. They're not "solving mass incarceration" any time soon.

hn with the dismissive, lowbrow, comments.

you realize that because they're in prison there's this other thing that prevents them from graduating to a job... namely their prison terms. just so we're clear: that there have only been 100 grads that successfully didn't return to prison doesn't tell you anything about how many finished the program and haven't been released yet.

moreover, a small program with limited funding running in a few prisons not solving mass incarceration isn't anymore surprising than a thumb in a dyke not preventing a flood.

instead you should be saying/asking/imagining: what would the completion and recidivism rate be if this program ran in all prisons. or even better: what would the incarceration rate be if this kind of vocational training were available for free in all poor neighborhoods.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#9
post #3

Great initiative! Hopefully employers will not overlook these candidates because of their criminal record.

Good luck with that unfortunately. I can't remember the last time I joined a company that didn't run a background check on me.

Re: Program teaches prisoners coding so they can land tech jobs once released

#10
post #9
post #3

Great initiative! Hopefully employers will not overlook these candidates because of their criminal record.

Good luck with that unfortunately. I can't remember the last time I joined a company that didn't run a background check on me.

Running a background check doesn’t mean you can’t accept certain negative content in that background.

A background check produces information not a decision.

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