"Do you have any thoughts on what might come after life?" --- J.K. of N.J.

Yes, of course (haven't you read the Fifth Nail blog?). "After life?" there is everything and nothing, just more life (i.e. I see no evidence that suggests life ever "ends", per se, and a lot of evidence (not to mention personal experience) that strongly suggests that life (and consciousness) goes on, forever, changing constantly, but never "ending". I mean, just think about it (something Christians are conditioned not to do, i.e. "think" about anything... they are told what to think, feel and believe... which is a kind of living "death" to me, i.e. the "end" of personal cognizance)!

"Do you feel a sense of having lost life, having been locked up for so long?" --- J.K. of N.J.

No. At least, not anymore. I used to, when I was younger and first imprisoned (at the age of 17) for forcing a 14-year-old boy to have oral sex with me at the point of an unloaded "toy" gun (a crime for which I had no idea would get me sent to prison for over 20 years). Now I realize that "life" isn't what you make of it, it's what it makes of you! So, there is no sense of loss, just a lingering sense of injustice.

"If you had one day of freedom to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?" --- J.K. of N.J.

That's easy, I'd get married to the love of my life (my fiancée)! Which would give me a chance to meet my new family (in-laws) and visit my old family (whom I miss and still love dearly).

"What do you do when you feel down, or if you do?" - S.M.

I don't feel "down" very often. But, if you do I can usually trace the feeling to some recurring thought or pattern of thoughts. So, meditation seems to "solve" the problem, if you can call it a problem. Sometimes I just let myself feel own, and appreciate it on an existential level. By meditating I can either mitigate the thoughts and/or their "weight" (i.e. importance). Regardless, being on "death row" is not a source of negative or depressing thoughts for me. The lack of privileges is sometimes frustrating, but doesn't bring me "down", per se. I see it as simply another place for me to "be", not much different, in essence, than any other place. It is "where" I am in my head that really matters, and determines how I feel from one moment to the next. So that's where I choose to focus my attention most of the time.

"Was binding a part of the sexual fulfillment, or just a way to ensure compliance? And, were the murders just a way to cover up the sexual assaults, or is killing part of the fulfillment?" - M.B. of WA

I sometimes enjoy binding, and being bound, in my fantasies. But, I have never under any circumstances --- not even consensually --- engaged in bondage for pleasure. Not because of any particular reason (i.e. I'm not opposed to it or anything), but mostly just because it never really interested me that much, and I never met anyone who was that into it either. In my fantasies it is much easier to do, so sometimes I do (fantasize about bondage) or watched "bondage" porn. But it has never been a "preference" for me, or strong interest. The same is true for killing (with the fantasy aspect to a much lesser degree, but sometimes present), and torture. When I was in prison, the first time, I fantasized about torture for pleasure much more. I suppose it appealed to my deep anger and hatred. But, after I got out, I found that the physical violence was not as satisfying as the psychological violence (i.e. inflicting fear was more "fulfilling" than inflicting pain). Besides, I could inflict far more fear than I ever could pain! Killing was never "fulfilling" in itself, so it was both to evade capture, and to inflict fear upon society, which is where the real "fulfillment" came from. While I admit that I enjoyed the sex, it was never about the sex. It was always about inflicting fear upon those who inflicted pain upon me. In a very real sense, I was a terrorist. And because of that, to this day I strongly sympathize with terrorists. Even while I abhor their "cause" (religious excuse), I understand their need to inflict fear. Hint: it's not political, or even fanatical. It's personal. Very personal. It's all about a sense (or delusion) of justice, and volition.

"Do you believe that pedophilia can be "cured", or treated? Are you interested in such treatment?" - M.B of WA

Again, it depends on what you mean by "cured" (or "treated"). If you are asking if I think a person's sexual interests can be intentionally changed, then the answers is, absolutely. But, I also believe, based on years of personal research and study, that doing so will have unpredictable and often disastrous results if it is done without careful consideration for the deep emotional "needs" that the preference satisfies. You can easily control a man's behavior by placing him in a prison cell alone (solitary confinement). But doing so is known to cause all sorts of psychological maladies. Not everyone suffers from such confinement, but most people do simply because their basic emotional "needs" are not being met. So their mind desperately (and unconsciously) seeks a way to fulfill those needs, perhaps by simply creating an imaginary friend (hallucinations), or in more severe cases, by creating an entirely new "reality", or just shutting down the conscious mind to the point of comatosis (is that a word?). Some people aren't affected at all, psychologically. But you can't point to the exceptions and claim they are "proof" of a fallacy in the rule. An you likewise can't claim that because some "sex offenders" (people) respond and adjust well to "treatment" then that proves that treatment does "work", if you "let it". The ones who "respond well" will have most likely found another way, naturally, to satisfy the emotional aspects of their sexual preferences. Maybe the "new" (and presumably "healthy" or at least "socially acceptable") preference also happens to satisfy their emotional "needs". Or, maybe they accidentally (or intentionally, and "luckily") found some other (non-sexual) way to satisfy their "needs". The point here is that if you try to change ("cure" or "treat") a person's naturally determined sexual preference without addressing the deeply personal emotional "needs" that the preference satisfies then you are asking for a disaster. In my case, for example, the "treatment" and consequent "confinement" (or "punishment") I received resulted in my unconscious mind resorting to extremely violent fantasies involving sex with children (the perceived source of the deep emotional wounds my mind was trying to "heal") and ultimately to my acting upon those fantasies (when they turned out to be "not enough" to satisfy my deepest emotional "needs").

Of course, not everyone's unconscious mind finds the same "solutions" that mine did. But, I can assure you that the problem solving methodology that the mind uses is the same for everyone. So, to answer the second part of your question, yes, I AM interested in so-called "treatment" for "sex offenders". But, only in the same way, and for the same reasons, that I am interested in history, especially human history; so I can better understand my own nature, and try not to repeat the mistakes of the past, if you know what I mean.

"From your blog anyone can see that you are sexually attracted to children. Have you received any treatment for pedophilia, and, if so, what is that like? Can you remember the first time that you realized you [were sexually attracted to children]?" - M.B. of WA

Yes, I am currently very interested in sex with young children. And yes, I received "treatment" at the infamous and defunct "Sexual Psychopath Treatment Program" at Western State (mental) Hospital, in Steilacoom, Washington, for approximately two years after my arrest in 1980 (when I was 17). Because of my crime, forcing another boy to take off his clothes and putting my dick in his mouth, I was told that I was a "homosexual pedophile", and if I refused to accept this I would be "in denial" and sent to prison as "non-amendable to treatment". So, I didn't just accept it, I convinced myself it was true. Because I was so naive and trusting, I believed what they told me. It was the only way that I could "get better", or so I thought. And, I desperately, more than anything else in the whole world just wanted to "get better", so I could be "normal". It wasn't until many years later, in prison and beyond, that I began educating myself, and figuring out that I wasn't (as in WAS NOT) ever sexually attracted to children the way they said. It took me a while to sort out what I was told to believe (i.e. that I was "sexually deviant", and "criminal", amongst other things) from the truth of my own experience and memories. For example, just months before my arrest in 1980, I was living in a group home surrounded by mostly younger and extremely accessible boys. But I never once while I was there remember ever being interested in any of the other boys sexually, nor did I ever do or pursue anything sexual with anyone at the "Boys Ranch" (or "Dyslin's" as it was called). Also, shortly after my arrest for "raping" another boy, I was placed in an enclosed day-room at the juvenile detention center with a much younger boy and left alone for several hours while we sorted and folded laundry. I remember telling the other "SPs" at the treatment program that I thought the younger boy in that situation was "cute", and I "peeped" on him when he changed the ragged pair of underpants he had on with a clean new pair he found in the laundry, which we were tasked with sorting. This memory, which was still clear to me after all the distortions in my memories and thinking that were imposed upon me forcefully (via intense classical "brain washing" techniques, like extreme pressure, provoked confusion, and sleep deprivation) during my two years of "treatment", along with a lot of other information and hard evidence that I used to slowly dismantle their "programming" of my mind. So, what was that like? Psychological hell. But, I don't remember ever actually pursuing an interest in sex with children until after (yes, after) my stint in the "SP" treatment program, while I was in prison. It wasn't until then that I started doing things like looking for pictures of children in their underwear in magazines and books. I never did that while I was in the "treatment" program itself. In hindsight, I have come to realize that my sexual interest in children grew out of an unconscious need for a sense of control in my life after all other avenues of any control were taken away from me, and especially after I received a 15 and a half year "minimum" term after I got to prison. When I look back on my life, and my changing sexual preferences, I can see clear and strong correlations between the strength and intensity of interest in sex with children, especially violent sex, and the way I was treated by the System, and ostracized as a "monster". In essence, the more I was treated like a "monster", "pedophile", "rapist", etc... the more I unconsciously became those things. I believe now that this correlation is due to some sort of natural response to being deprived of "normal" human emotional "needs". This is why now I can, and do, speak of my sexual interest in children without shame or hesitation. I realize it is something natural. and even beautiful, when properly understood. It provides me with something on a deep emotional level that has been denied to me, and even forcefully taken from me by the System: A sense of control over my own mind and emotions, i.e. my life.

"Do you think that a healthy sexual relationship in line with your orientation at a younger age would have prevented you from committing [your crimes]?" - M.B. of WA

 What is a healthy sexual relationship? Do you mean, a "normal" sexual relationship? And, if by "orientation at a younger age" you mean my sexual preference as a teen (when I was arrested for "raping" another boy close to my own age), then I'd have to say, maybe. In response to this question I'd have to clarify my answer by saying only that if I had even had just a friend, or adult in my life, who I could have confided in with my feelings (sexual and otherwise) then I seriously doubt if I would ever have felt the need to impose my confusion on another boy who I didn't even know, or want to have sex with for that matter. My "sexual preference" as a teen was not confused. I was very much interested in girls (my own age) and young slender women. I enjoyed soft porn magazines like Oui, Hustler, and Playboy as much as any other "normal" boy my age. My only "confusion" at the time was how to get girls to like me, when I believed from being told so often (by my older sisters, and my own mother) that I was stupid and ugly (which I was neither, I know now, too late). If I had had someone to talk to, and to simply explain to me what a "relationship" was, and how to start, have, and end one, then I seriously doubt if I would have felt the need to impose my shame onto anyone --- because I wouldn't have had anything to be ashamed about.

"If you had not been incarcerated in 1980, or if the sentence had been more lenient or included counseling, do you think that you would have committed more violent crimes?" - M.B. of WA

It's hard to say, but I like to think not. In fact, I sincerely believe --- based on much honest self-reflection and years of struggling to understand my original "crime" --- that if I had not been caught and arrested at all then I would have most likely gone on with my life as just another sheep in the herd of society, blissfully oblivious to my own insanity, and the insanity of our social system. And for that reason alone, I am grateful I got caught, pushed, raped in  prison, and embittered against the System. it was the only way I was able to see through the veil of deception that the System uses to control and subdue so many, which ultimately allowed me to remove the monster mask of self-deception that kept me on the System's leash.

"Do you maintain that the sexual assaults and murders that you committed after your initial incarceration were done because you wanted revenge on society, and not just for the fulfillment of your sexual desires?" - M.B. of WA

Yes, I do. I do not deny that sexual desire was part of the motivation. But, sexual desire is intrinsically and inextricably intertwined with our primitive emotional core, where the desire for vengeance is born. All sexual desire is a product of our deepest emotional needs. So it turns out to be completely natural for a man who feels deeply violated to end up lusting sexually for revenge. If my own crimes aren't enough to convince you of this basic truth, then consider the role that rape, of men, women, and children, has always played in war. Need I say more? (Note: When the option of rape is removed as an outlet in war, then drugs, and suicide, become the compensation.) 

"What exactly drove you to sexually assault younger kids as a teenager?" --- powerpsi

When I was 16, I used an unloaded gun to scare a younger boy (age 14) into taking off his clothes and letting me put my penis in his mouth. I was consequently charged with rape, assault, kidnapping, and numerous other crimes. I plead guilty to one count of first degree rape and spent the next twenty years as a ward of the state, over 17 of those years in prison, where I myself was violently raped and repeatedly assaulted. So when you ask me what drove me to sexually assault younger kids as a teenager, I just want to laugh. Your question (and accompanying comment) is biased and ignorant. I can't even begin to tell you all the reasons why it is impossible for me or anyone else to answer, not to mention the fact that even if it could be answered, it wouldn't help anyone stop it from happening again. The only thing an answer to a question like this ever could accomplish --- which is what I think you are no doubt attempting to accomplish by even asking --- is finding something or someone to blame for what happened so that you don't have to face the ugly truth that you yourself are no different than me insofar as we are both, presumably, human, and equally at fault (though neither of us, or anyone else, should be blamed).

Yet, I don't blame you for asking either, because I understand why you would, just as I would, if I were in your shoes, so to speak. Just as you would have done the same as I did when I was a teen if you were in my shoes. Realizing this truth, instead of evading it the way your question does, is the only way we will ever come to understand such behavior together. We must understand it together, because it is something we did --- and continue doing --- together.

So, if you are really seeking to understand, as you claim, then as yourself what exactly would drive you to "rape" (or "murder", for that matter). At least then you'd be looking in the right direction for answers, inside yourself, instead of outside yourself for something or someone to blame.

[J.D. August 31, 2018]

"How do you feel about death at this point? Do you fear it, welcome it, or simply don't care either way?" --- JDun

I don't fear it, not even subconsciously. I don't welcome it either, at least not in any sense that I "want to die" or anything like that. But, if someone put a gun in my face and told me to say my prayers, I'd probably just smile and try to say something witty, like, "Hello, my friend..." (a reference to death itself, not the person holding the gun). At least that's what I have done in dreams recently when I faced such death. Not that I dream of dying often, only sometimes (maybe two or three times that I can remember in the last year), and as you know (if you read this blog), I dream a lot. But, when I do dream of my own death it is always something that happens in stride, and is nothing I consider in the dream or in life to be out of the ordinary. In other words, I seem to understand death, even subconsciously, as just another part of life. I certainly do not see it as "punishment" for anything. in my view, it's more of an escape, if anything. Which is why I usually refer to my so-called "execution" (death sentence) as my "release day", because to me that's all it is.

[J.D. Aug. 30, 2018] 

"What would you like to see happen to your blog once you're 'released'?" - Z.M. of Lakeland, FL

First let me say that I appreciate your thoughtful card (yes, I enjoy cats very much!) and questions. As for the fate of the Fifth Nail blogs (including the original blog from Fargo) after my "release" (a.k.a. "execution") I can only hope that the information that has been so painstakingly compiled remains available on the Internet for as long as it takes until we, as intelligent species, grow wise enough to read and understand it without judgment. Perhaps then it will become something useful and valuable, if not to help change the world into a better place to live and learn, then maybe just as a resource for understanding how our world was once sickened by so much fear and ignorance.

I have always looked far into the future while writing for the Fifth Nail blogs. I do not write for those who judge and ignorantly condemn themselves as the vast majority in this world only know how to do. I write instead to provide a resource, exposing the thoughts, feelings, memories, and experiences of an ordinary human mind infected by a profoundly sick social system for a future world where such ignorance no longer prevails. So you could say that my real hope is only that these blogs, and the world itself, somehow manage simply survive into the future. That's all.

[J.D. March 4, 2018]

"What advice would you give to someone that was going through a situation that they think will never get better?" --- Z.M. of Lakeland, FL

I don't think I'm a person anyone should be asking for advice. But, I can tell you how I deal with "hopeless" situations personally. As you probably know, I have been on "death row" for over ten years and my attorneys have nearly exhausted all of their appeals. And for the last thirteen years (since my arrest in 2005) I have lived in solitary confinement, many of those years in conditions well-known for causing severe psychological stress (i.e. little human contact, constant harassment, unappetizing food, no T.V. or radio, one blanket, and a thin mattress on a too narrow concrete slab for a "bunk", surrounded by filth and vermin like cockroaches, mold, and maggots - I'm referring mostly here to the two years I spent in Riverside County Jail in Southern California - yes, it was that bad!). And yet I have managed to maintain excellent health in body, mind, and spirit (i.e. I have no medical conditions and generally don't feel depressed).

How? By constantly remembering and choosing to focus my mind on what I HAVE, not on what I WANT and DON'T HAVE! In the worst cases, when the circumstances are so bad that all I HAVE is my mind, body, and breath, it is these things I turn to for "comfort". Some call this meditation, but I think of it as simply taking absolutely NOTHING for granted; not even the air I breathe. Each breath is an enjoyable experience all by itself. This is what works for me. But I don't expect it to work for everyone. And since it is so well-documented (as "meditation" usually") I normally don't talk (or write) about it much. So thank you for asking.

[J.D. March 4, 2018]

"Is this [blog] still from the same person?"

Yes. Joseph E. Duncan III is and has always been the sole content provider for this blog. If this ever changes then we will state so explicitly at that time.

"You said you could not have committed your crimes without [societal influence]. What did you mean? Please elaborate." --- K.B. of TN

No man is an island, and no rapist or murderer ever acts alone. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a network of connected beliefs, fears, prejudice, and ignorance to create a "monster". The most relevant and clear example of this is the belief I held when I killed that I had a "right" to do so. I could not have killed anyone without this "belief" which became my rationalization for acting against my "better nature". And my belief that I had the right to kill was the direct adoption of society's consensual belief that it has the right to kill.

The only thing that amazes me about this concept (that no one acts alone), is the way so many people pretend to understand it when the result is presumed positive (e.g. when "it takes a village to raise a child) and yet then they completely reject it when the result is negative and hence reflects upon their own beliefs, fears and ignorance. The example I gave above where I believed I had the right to kill (and incidentally to judge and condemn in the name of "justice") is only one piece of the complex intellectual connection I had to the society that "raised" me that was critical to the inevitable outcome of my raping and murdering children. So if you pick it apart with other inept rationalizations (such as, "society has the right to judge, but not you", which ignores common sense and invokes nothing more than the same "gang mentality" that the Nazis and so many others used), then you are not only missing the point, but actively illustrating the precise type of learned ignorance that led to my own demise.

The intellectual "problems" with my thinking did not just "happen" independent of my experience with society. It happened as a direct result of that "experience". And until we (all) start accepting this and acting accordingly (by changing the structure of society's "thinking" rather than continuing the madness of "blaming" individuals for their thinking and behavior) then said madness (e.g. the rape and murder of children) will continue. I have insisted since my arrest in 2005 that it would have been better if someone simply put a bullet in my head and threw my body in a dumpster behind that Denny's where I was found with the little girl. Even if I was completely "innocent" of any "wrong-doing", killing me would have been better than making a big show out of judging and condemning me and calling it "justice". Because, by putting on such a show, we are telling our children, "smoking is bad for you!", even as we force them to breathe the poisonous smoke we inhale.

(Note: Everything I am trying to say here is backed by research and history. So rather than judge it by its source, as coming from a "child killer", why not find out for yourself if it is true? Because if it is true, and you continue to ignore it, then you are the "sicko", not me.)

[J.D. February 2, 2017]

"I understand and agree with your belief that we are all collectively and individually responsible for our actions, but you said [the difference is critical], and I don't understand what you mean. Can you clarify?" --- K.B. of TN

The "critical difference" I was referring to was between "taking responsibility" and "assigning blame". I don't see any difference between "individual" and "collective" responsibility. You cannot be "individually responsible" or "collectively responsible" without being both at the same time. They are essentially the same thing. In fact, you could (correctly) say that the difference between responsibility and blame is that one recognizes the unification of individual and collective responsibility, while the other (blame) attempts to separate them. And this difference is "critical", because when we fail to connect individual responsibility with its collective counterpart, we end up creating a justification (or "excuse") for completely irresponsible behavior --- and that's exactly what blame does!

For example, if I say, "You hurt me", without recognizing that I chose to be hurt also, then I create an illusion of fault that keeps me and the other person from being able to prevent the hurt from happening again; and it thus most likely will happen again. I prevent myself from changing by placing "blame" on the other person, and I prevent the other person from wanting to change by not accepting my own responsibility, which only encourages them to blame me (because they can usually see your part better than their own also).

This plays out in criminal cases all the time as well. The rapist thinks, "She shouldn't have teased me by wearing those shoes", or the car thief thinks, "They shouldn't have left the keys in the car". There are as many criminals who blame the victims as there are victims who blame the criminals. And all the "Criminal Justice System" does by assigning "official" blame on the criminal is strengthen and solidify the blaming process and its consequences (i.e. more crime), much to the clear benefit of those who work for the System.

I have mentioned elsewhere in this blog that it is a well known fact that most "criminals" believe they have been unfairly convicted. And the "Justice System" routinely uses this as an excuse to "punish" criminals even more (e.g. they give longer sentences and harsher punishments to those who don't "accept responsibility" for their actions --- in other words, those who don't accept the blame as an individual). And thus the "System" propagates the very ignorance that ensures its own survival; no surprise there. It creates the very "criminal mentality" that it purports to be so against by blaming and punishing individuals without recognizing or acknowledging its own responsibility for what so-called "bad guys" do. The "Justice System" could not exist at all without this rift in responsibility. Without anyone to blame, there'd be no one to punish; and maybe we could start working on the real reasons people end up hurting each other for a change...

(J.D. February 2, 2017)  

"When did your sexual confusion turn violent? Was there always an interest in sexual violence, or did a specific incident spur it?" --- K.B. of TN

I have tried to provide the answer to this question in the "Confession"-section of this blog (more specifically, see "What Happened In Prison - Part III: The Transition" posted on March 4, 2012). But, I realize that is a lot to sort through, so I'll provide a "short answer" here.

Yes. In 1989 (or thereabouts) when the ISRB (a.k.a. "Parole Board") added several years to my already exceptional sentence, not for any reason (e.g. disciplinary, etc.) except because they "felt" (contrary to the psychological report they were provided and the voluntary testimony of a tenured psychologist at the parole hearing) that I was at "high risk to re-offend". I had previously been found "paroleable" by order of a state court, and now the ISRB had taken that away from me for what I considered a "made up" reason that was completely unsupportable by any facts other than the political hype against "sex offender recidivism rates". I remember very clearly at that point in my life, realizing that no matter what I did (or didn't do) and no matter how hard I tried to "heal" myself (I had put a lot of effort into preparing to "do well" when I got out, which the ISRB just ignored --- see the "In Prison" post mentioned above for more details), that I would be punished (and was in fact being punished) not for what I did, but for what I MIGHT do!

It was at this point that for the first time I began fantasizing about and planning for the day that I would "make them pay". If I was to be punished for future crimes, then I would make sure those crimes fit or exceeded the punishment. And that's exactly what I did. This desire for "justice" became so ingrained that after I got out on parole (several years later --- see "What Happened In Prison - Part VI: The Streets" posted on September 19, 2014) and no longer felt the "desire" for revenge, I carried out my plans regardless, out of "respect" for my past self (when I was in prison, I knew that I would lose the "desire" for vengeance after I got out, and could no longer directly feel the "pain" of what "they" took from me, so I made a kind of "pact" and promise to myself that no matter how "well" I was doing, I would never forget the pain and suffering "they" caused me, and I would carry through with my plans to "make them pay"; and I reinforced this oath many times over the years, most notably when Westley Allan Dodd was executed on January 5, 1993 --- see "What Happened In Prison - Part IV: The Queen" posted on March 29, 2012).

I do not like violence, and I was violent only because I felt I needed to be in order to exact my "revenge". I think it is a huge mistake to assume that violence is something "caused". Violence is a force of life that has no more "cause" than gravity. So it might help to think of what happened back in 1989, when the ISRB extended my sentence without reason, as a situation where my reasons for not being violent --- the "stem" that connected me to a branch in the "tree" --- was cut off, and I "fell", or simply experienced the "force of gravity" (violence) that had been acting on me all along. The ISRB did not "cause" me to be violent any more than they "cause" gravity. All they did was cut me from the tree, something "they" are very good at doing with no regard for where the ones they cut free might fall. (And by "they" I mean anyone who thinks separating the "bad apples" from the "good apples" is a "good" idea, without stopping to consider where the "bad apples" might "fall".)

[J.D. January 30, 2017] 

"Is there [anything] you would like to tell your father?" --- M.E. of Germany

There is lots I would like to tell my father, but little I think he would understand. If there were only one thing that I could make him understand, it would be that I am his son. And, I would like him to understand what that means (i.e. that I am an extension of him that he cannot get away from).

It would also be nice if I could make him understand that I am a man, no more and no less than he is or ever was.

[J.D. February 3, 2017]

"Is there anything that can be done in prison, among death row prisoners, that could curb the recidivism rate of those getting out and improve life for those who won't?" --- K.B. of TN

This question kind of confuses me. Isn't "recidivism" for prisoners released from death row almost zero? If it's not, then I would appreciate a little education myself on this (I can't simply ask, "Okay Google..."). And since I don't know about recidivism for death row prisoners I can't answer your question in such regard. But, I can say generally, and with some knowledge, that ordinary education has been consistently shown to significantly reduce recidivism for all crimes (including "sex crimes"), even when the education was compulsive.

When I was in prison in the 1990s, I did a research paper on this subject for a college class (which I had paid for privately in order to complete an A.A. degree before my release). I got most of my information from the files of the Education Director at TRCC in Washington state. He had compiled a considerable amount of information from numerous studies (paid for by various agencies both for and against education in prisons) in support of an ill-fated attempt by the Correctional Education Association (C.E.A.) to promote more spending on education programs in prison. The C.E.A. proved that even the most conservated estimates of reduced recidivism would save more money on incarceration costs than would be spent on the education programs (i.e. the education programs more than paid for themselves, not to mention reducing crime at the same time).

This has often made me wonder why education programs in U.S. prisons were so dramatically reduced and often even eliminated in the late 80s and early 90s. It makes me suspect that "someone" is more interested in the money that can be made (and IS made) off of incarceration in America (or, as politicians like to call it, "the economic boost").

As for improving the lives of those who are never getting out... Well, we could start by changing the basic view that most people in the U.S. have of prisoners in general. In this country, prisoners are by law considered less human, insofar as they have less rights, not more as is commonly believed, than a "free" citizen. The Supreme Court has ruled that prisoners only have a limited set of the same rights of other Americans guaranteed by the "Bill of Rights" in our constitution. Things like, "limited due process" and "significant loss of liberty interest" are used to define and qualify these "special" rights of prisoners. And when you treat a clearly defined class of people as "less important" than everyone else by legal decry, you should not be too surprised when the people in that "class" as a general rule have little ot no respect for your "laws". So, "recidivism" is effected as well (big surprise).

I refer again to the laws of most European countries, where they learned the hard way what "human rights" are, and why it is so important that they be applied equally to all people, in the last century. In those countries the prisoners have the same full rights as any other citizen. And prisoners consequently retain many of the "privileges" that are routinely stripped from U.S. prisoners, such as computer and Web access; which let the prisoners continue to feel like they are a "part of society", instead of an "enemy". As I've said on this blog before, there is no such thing as "prisoner's rights", only "human rights". In the U.S., we have clearly forgotten (or perhaps never learned) what that means.

[J.D. Dec. 6, 2016]