Is rehabilitation a reality in the American legal system?

By Janell J. Lewis Argus Managing Editor Three African-American men, all of whom recently walked out of state prisons after spending years behind bars, shared their views on injustices in the legal system, on their experiences as prisoners and on their regrets during a public forum held at Bennett College in February. One of the three, Kwame Cannon, commented that “having been out of prison for almost five years, I can understand why ‘they’ go back.” The “they” in which Cannon spoke are fellow prisoners, and the irony of his statement is that within hours of making it, Cannon faced four warrants for his arrest. His statements and subsequent arrest have left me wondering is there any such thing as rehabilitation. “Conversations” was hosted by the Triad Black Media Professionals of which Robin Adams is president. The two other panelists at the forum were Darryl Hunt, who served almost 19 years behind bars and gained his freedom as a result of DNA evidence. Ronald Cotton, the third panelist, served 101?2 years in prison. Cannon was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for burglary. However, as a result of today’s sentencing guidelines, he should not have received more than nine years. Cannon was released after serving 13 years. Shortly after the two-hour forum, however, four arrest warrants were taken out against Cannon for assaulting a female, communicating threats and two for harassing phone calls. This raised the eyebrows of many who attended, myself included. When I heard the news, my reaction was typical: “Yeah, well, you’re a part of that ‘they’ group now.” It was difficult for me to reconcile the fact that I had just listened to a man tell me the hell he went through in prison; the hurt and pain he had caused his family, especially his mother, and then learn that he had alleged committed an offense which would land him right back in jail. Cannon’s original sentence had been commuted on the condition that he was forbidden from breaking the law during his five years of supervision, which would have ended March 31 – one month after he was arrested. During the forum discussion, Cannon talked about prison life and the aggressive attitude he possessed as a young man. He talked about how hard it was to rehabilitate himself and reenter the world outside of prison. He added that his definition of rehabilitate is “to return one to one’s original state, meaning that if you were aggressive and (harbored) nothing but hate and anger before you stepped into prison, then, essentially, that’s the state they are putting you back into. It seems like prison only nourishes the mind frame that an individual has already set-not change it for the better.” A WSSU professor who attended the forum warned those of us who heard Cannon not to rush to condemn him. She gave us something to think about: You’re 17 with one of those “I’m bad” attitudes. You commit a felony and go to jail for the next 13 years of your life. When you get out, this world is going to be a totally different place.” Cannon said that when you’re in prison all you do is think of a better way to do the crime that put you there in the first place. Again, it makes me wonder, “is there really a such thing as rehabilitation? Can you turn a criminal into a productive member of society? Fortunately for me, I know the answer is yes, and I have to look no farther than my own family for confirmation. My uncle was incarcerated for more than 6 years, and had been in and out of jail for the majority of his life. He is now married with a family and actively involved with his church. He holds down a regular job and he just became the owner of a new house. While in prison, he would write the family, including me, letters that moved me to tears. He has a gift with words and speaking, and entertaining. This is a gift that not even years in prison could take away. Darryl Hunt said that when he first stepped foot on to his porch, he just stood there until his wife told him that he had to use the key to open the door. He said he was so accustomed to prison, where all the doors open for you and you are always told what to do, that he was standing at his own home waiting for the door to open. Once you’re in prison, it’s like that is a totally different world that confines the body and even the mind. Hunt and Cotton were fortunate enough to have strong minds and hearts, and not let anybody or anything contaminate it. It seems that Cannon was not as fortunate. There were a lot of messages to be gleaned from the Conversations forum, but a few stuck out the most. Daryl Hunt showed me the pointless effort in holding grudges and ill wills; Ronald Cotton pointed out that we need to take notice of our social environment and who we congregate with, and Kwame Cannon simply reinforced the age-old adage “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” They all taught me to have great value in life and not to take any one day for granted.