I recently went to the Redgranite correctional facility with students from the Tri-Center Alternative School in West Bend. The students had a chance to talk with inmates and ask them any questions they might have. I was amazed at the inmates standing in front of me. Out of 9 inmates that were in this program (R.Y.TE., Reaching Youth Through Education), 4 of them were convicted of homicide, one for vehicular homicide, and three for armed robbery. The thing that got me though was this: I was just like them. Sure, I didn't grow up in the ghetto and my parents didn't go through a divorce. But I had the same interests as them (family and being successful), I had the same desires as them (to be a positive influence). I even looked and talked like them. I could relate to them. They were people I would befriend on the streets. I actually liked them.
We have this misperception that those that are locked up are monsters; monsters that look different, talk different, walk different. There is something inherently wrong with them that could not possibly be wrong with us. They can't function in society and as a result are locked up.
This could not be further from the truth. These are real people like you and me that made wrong decisions (like we do), succumbed to temptation (like we do), got caught (like we do), punished (like we are) and as a result, are behind bars. We need to look at these people behing bars with an understanding that they are very similar to us and that rehabilition is the answer rather than locking them up and throwing away the key.