Jadakiss @therealkiss once asked the question is his song “Why” when he said “Why they stop letting ni**as get degrees in jail?” It was a very good question, the purpose of prisons before mass incarceration were meant to educate and reform prisoners so that when they did their time they would have something to offer back to society, have the chance at a job and life again. Our President Barack Obama, after visiting a federal prison is Oklahoma last month is making a real big and needed change. We should also mention that commuted sentences for 46 nonviolent drug offenders, which many say make up more then 55% of the total prison population.
For more than 20 years, prisoners have been denied federal student aid to take college courses while still behind bars. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the administration’s new Second Chance Pell Pilot program last Friday. ‘‘America is a nation of second chances,’’ Duncan said. ‘‘Giving people who have made mistakes in their lives a chance to get back on track and become contributing members of society is fundamental to who we are. It can also be a cost-saver for taxpayers.’’
The program will allow, on a temporary basis, federal grants to be used to cover college costs for prisoners for the first time since Congress excluded them from student aid in 1994. It will last three to five years and be open to prisoners who are eligible for release, particularly within the next five years. Inmates could be eligible for the aid as early as the fall of 2016.
Pell Grants are for low-income people and do not have to be repaid. This is REAL change people, share the good news!
