Sunday, July 6, 2014
A reader asked my thoughts on the subject of prison reform. My answer is simple. Our nation’s prison system is the slavery of our day and one of the greatest social injustices of our time. It perpetuates intergenerational cycles of failure. Rather than preparing people for success, prisons breed subcultures that abide by values that are inconsistent with the discipline and work ethic that society demands from those who want to succeed. We would go a long way toward improving community safety if citizens demanded that legislators and administrators improved outcomes from our prison system. Rather than measuring success by the number of people our prisons lock away, we should measure success by the number of offenders prepare to live as law-abiding, contributing citizens. Otherwise, we should quit calling our prisons part of a system of corrections and start recognizing prisons as the human warehouses they’ve become.
Days since my release from prison: 328
Miles that I ran today: 8.65
Miles that I ran so far this week: 8.65
Miles that I’ve run during the month of July: 38.34
Miles that I ran so far in 2014: 1,397.28
Miles that I need to run in order to reach my annual goal of 2,400 miles: 1,002.72
Miles I’m ahead of schedule to reach my 2,400-mile goal by the end of 2014: 162.12
My weight for today: 167