The United States is home to only 5% of the world’s total population, yet boasts a whopping 25% of the world’s prison population--the largest of any other country. We are arresting, sentencing, and imprisoning men, women, and youth at a faster rate than any nation on the planet, with 95% of all those incarcerated eventually being released back to society--many with no home, no job, and no hope. Terrell A. Blount is dedicated to debunking myths, eliminating the stereotypes, and erasing stigma associated with people that have been through the criminal justice system. He currently speaks on the following topics:
Solitary Confinement
Isolated confinement exists in different forms, depending on the correctional facility: administrative segregation, solitary confinement, supermax cells, and permanent lockdown, just to name a few. Whatever term is used to describe this practice, they all yield similar results: prisoners who have been in isolation for just 14 days are susceptible to an array of mental health issues, inadequate medical treatment, very little to no contact with other inmates, restricted non-contact visits with loved ones, and the list goes on. People spend anywhere from a few months to 20+ years isolated, confined for 22-24 hours a day.
Correction departments across the country would like for the public to believe that the people isolated are either crazy and dangerous, gang members who belong to an STG (Security Threat Group), or political prisoners attempting to start an uprising, but that is not the entire truth. Terrell’s experience in isolated confinement was due to a single blade that was discovered by officers in an envelope during a random tier search. The blade was being used to separate a sheet of photos to send to family and friends; for that, he received a weapons charge, and was transferred from a youth correctional facility to a maximum-security prison during the ordeal. There are plenty of similar stories, from juveniles to the elderly, some serving lengthy sentences for minor disciplinary infractions such as failure to consume prescribed medication. Terrell speaks on his experiences and advocates for policy change for those whose voices cannot be heard from behind the walls.
Post-Secondary Correctional Education (PSCE)
The power of effective prison education programs is relevant throughout: the simple achievement of attaining a high school diploma or equivalency before returning to society unarguably reduces a person’s chances of recidivating. In fact, inmate participation in any form of correctional education decreases their odds of returning by 43% compared to those who do not (according to a 2013 Rand study). More specifically, exposure to college curriculum in a correctional setting or post-incarceration further reduces recidivism each time a degree is earned: an Associate's, a Bachelor's, and a Master’s (0% recidivism).
Terrell knows first-hand the positive effects of PSCE for people incarcerated, sharing information from personal meaning, as well as an evidence-based approach. As of 2015, The Rutgers Mountainview Program (the program through which Terrell discovered his talents and potential), has graduated 18 formerly incarcerated adults, many of which have went on to attend graduate school. PSCE is not just a recidivism-reduction initiative, but also a paradigm changing phenomena that makes both moral and fiscal sense in such a punishment driven nation.
