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EDUCATION LIBERATES DONOVAN PRISON INMATES

Photo Courtesy of Ko Inouye

By Camila A. Gonzales, Jose Guzman and Holden Ames

DONOVAN STATE PRISON, OTAY MESA—Shawn Khalifa’s life was essentially over.

A life sentence in prison eliminates hope and exterminates dreams.

Education, he found, can reanimate both.

The Southwestern College Restorative Justice program has restored lives, said Khalifa, and shown people who made bad choices as youth that a college degree can open doors.

Including doors with iron bars.

More than 2 million people in the United States are incarcerated, including about 90,000 in California. Several hundred are locked up in Donovan State Prison in Otay Mesa, a pitiless maximum security facility that houses some notorious felons, including Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

From the bleak grey walls light can shine. Patrice Milkovich and Raquel Fuentes lit a lantern of learning that has burned there since 2016.

Taking learning into a gritty state prison is the ultimate win-win, said Milkovich. For decades research has consistently shown that illiteracy is a leading predictor of criminal behavior and incarceration. Poorly educated members of society too often feel shut out of the economic structure and turn to crime, according to studies. Providing prisoners with educational opportunities is the most effective way to prevent recidivism.

“Education is the greatest form of rehabilitation,” said Milkovich. “It changes the perception of a person’s worth and it helps improve public safety. Education improves safety inside prisons. People taking college courses inside prison do not want to blow the opportunity because it’s a form of freedom. Even if you are behind barbed wire, electrified fences and tall walls you have the freedom to speak and use your mind. You are treated like a human being, not a (prison) number.”

Khalifa said he is living proof. While taking Southwestern College classes at Donovan he was granted parole. He continued to work on an Associate’s degree on the Chula Vista campus, logging a 4.0 GPA. Later this month he expects to earn a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from UC Irvine.

His personal evolution started the first day he saw a classroom in the prison. Chairs, tables and whiteboards began to change the culture at Donovan, he said.

“Every classroom was full,” he said. “Everybody was really engaged.”

Funches said she and other restorative justice advocates are attempting to reframe what education looks like for the incarcerated.

“These individuals are some of the most intelligent people I have met,” she said. “(Most Americans) do not put in the effort to understand why people become incarcerated. Why is it that the U.S. incarcerates the most people in the world?”

Southwestern College Professor of Philosophy Peter Bolland said he taught at Donovan early in his career and witnessed the transformative power of education.

“It does something to (incarcerated people),” he said. “It changes them. Students who go through the program have a lower recidivism rate.”

Bolland said restorative justice programs have been slowed in parts of the country by conservative politicians who consider prisoners unsympathetic and unworthy of the investment. In California, he said, the average cost of incarceration is about $130,000 per person.

“Education is a win-win situation,” he said. “With more education there is lower recidivism. That means less crimes and fewer of us being hurt by criminal behavior. If being conservative means reducing government expenses, lowering costs and more efficient government, then paying to educate incarcerated people is a conservative (endeavor) because it saves money and lowers crime rates.”

Milkovich said restorative justice is a money saver for taxpayers. Every dollar invested in education of prisoners saves $4-5 in incarceration costs.

Southwestern adjunct instructors Mark Lieberman and Peter Maxwell agree. Both teach twice a week at Donovan and say they are passionate about the restorative justice program. Leiberman said students are equally passionate.

“The students are eager to learn,” he said. “They come ready to engage in class discussions and are enthusiastic to participate in group work. They wait patiently for their turn to talk and provide detailed feedback.”

Leiberman said he enjoys helping his students at Donovan because he believes they want to change and have better lives.

“If you are a felon no one wants to hire you,” he said. “Employers look more favorably upon people who have studied and possibly earned degrees. Education inside a penitentiary gives (former prisoners) the opportunity to have significantly better employment when they get out.”

People motivated to change their lives make good employees, Leiberman said.

“Well over 50 percent of the people in the penitentiary did not get a good education to begin with,” he said.

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that 41 percent of inmates in the federal prison system and local jails had not completed high school. Research by the Rand Corporation concluded that prisoners who participate in correctional education classes have a 43 percent lower chance of recidivism and a 13 percent higher chance of gaining employment upon release. Students who earn degrees do even better.

When he taught argumentation and debate, Leiberman said, students were excited to participate in debates in the yard after class. Prison administrators said they liked the fact that students could debate issues without it turning into a fight.

“This is the good work,” he said. “(Failed education experiences form) the pinpoint where our system has fallen down for a really long time. The deal is supposed to be you do your time, you get out and your debt is paid. If we are still going to let corporations say ‘no felons allowed,’ then we need to balance out the scales somewhere else. That is the duty of education.”

Southwestern’s Restorative Justice Program, established in 2016, has enrolled 5,944 students, according to Funches. The completion rate is 94 percent and 89 percent earn a C or better. It offers seven Associate of Science degrees and 70 Associative of Arts degrees. It has awarded 18 certificates in American sign language.

Maxwell, who teaches film classes, said he finds his work at Donovan rewarding.

“The students at Donovan are very grateful for this opportunity to improve their lives, find a sense of growth and heal,” he said.

Milkovich said 95 percent of incarcerated people are scheduled for an eventual release.

“Do we want to set them up for success?” she said. “Or do we want them set up for failure to return to prison?”

“We try to emphasize that our students are not defined by their worst mistake,” added Funches.

John Price, a 45-year-old ex-incarcerated, called the Southwestern College Restorative Justice Program “a miracle.” He expects to graduate from SDSU this spring.

“My life has been pretty difficult,” he said. “I’ve spent almost 20 years in prison, so it was a long, arduous journey. (Restorative justice) helps you to believe in yourself and realize that you can do worthwhile things. Even the smallest successes create momentum for more successes. It’s a blessing.”

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