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Prison does not make You Sober
Nearly half of all Prisoners’
incarcerated in the United States are for drug
or Alcohol related offenders according to a new
report issued by the Manor House Rehab
Center. The report also indicates that more
and more State Courts are allowing the
opportunity for Judges and Prosecutors to defer
incarceration by directing offender’s to
mandatory treatment programs like inpatient
Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation found at
manorhouserehab.com
The principal behind the
program basically works like probation but with
far more intense interaction between counselors
at a Rehab Center than a probation officer. The
Courts being jammed with cases, the only logical
approach is to assign one on one counseling to
get to the root of the problem which is usually
alcohol or drugs. According to a new report
issued by White House Faith-Based and
Initiatives program, over two thirds of all
Prisoners’ will return to Prison within two
years. It has become obvious that incarceration
is not working in over two thirds of the
prisoner’s released and return to Prison is
expected.
In Oklahoma, according to the
Department of Corrections, it cost over $17,000
to house an inmate and yet 66% return to
prison; Compared to Offender’s who successfully
complete an in-patient alcohol and drug rehab
program, almost ninety percent have not
committed another offense according to Sharon
Nuemann, deputy director of community sentencing
as reported in the Oklahoman Newspaper.
Community Sentencing is not as well known or
used as much as other like drug and mental
health courts which have had far more funding
from both the States and The Federal
Government. According to Bob Ravitz, Chief
Public Defender for Oklahoma County, “any type
of alternative sentencing is going to have a
better rate of non-recidivism than
incarceration”.
The high cost of housing a
non-violent criminal is causing Prosecutor’s and
Judges to re-think their views on
incarceration. The current thinking is more
towards getting an offender to an “attitude
change” more than in punishment and locking them
up. Prosecutors and Public Defenders alike are
coming to the conclusions that they can not keep
incarcerating all the people that are being
arrested. The courts are not big enough, the
prison’s do not have enough bed’s and guards,
and the community can not take the burden
imposed upon incarcerating so many non-violent
offenders.
Cathy Stocker, and Enid
Oklahoma District Attorney was quoted as saying
“I was glad to see this legislation come about.
It was the first time in all the years I have
been a prosecutor that money was made available
through the State to address some problems these
offenders have.” She was quoted in the
Oklahoman Newspaper out of Oklahoma City on
September 30th, 2007. Over 3,000
people are participating in similar programs
throughout over 60 Oklahoma Counties. If the
offenders fail to improve or if a re-occurring
behavior like alcohol and drug use persist, they
can be violated and sent back to do their
original sentence. It becomes a Second Chance
and President Bush has declared in his State of
the Union Address that America is a country full
of second chances and Offender’s such as Alcohol
and Drug users also deserve the same chance as
others.
The President has increased
his commitment to alternative forms to
incarceration by encompassing faith based
organizations as well as State and Federal
Government to lend a helping hand to those in
the most need. Various Seminar’s and
Conferences are being held around the United
States such as the one being held in Los
Angeles, California in November of 2007 with
work-shops on Promising Examples of Partnerships
between corrections and Faith-Based Community
Organizations, Weed and Seed in your Community,
The President’s Reentry Initiative and other
Reentry Efforts at the Department of labor and
the Department of Justice, Engaging Faith Based
Community Organizations in Alternatives to
Incarceration, Transitional Housing, Substance
and Abuse Treatment Programs and finally,
Pre-Release Faith and Character Dorms. The
Staff at manorhouserehab.com are signed up for
the up-coming Seminars as part of their
continuing education efforts to combat
alcoholism and addiction. For further
information, you can contact Bradley Burchett at
1-800-396-5534 or visit our website at
http://www.manorhouserehab.com for further
details and information.
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