Prison

I read a short article about why a man in Germany that didn't want to leave jail.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/21/germany.prisoner.reut/index.html
He had been in there for 34 years serving part of a life sentence. My experience with ex-cons was with Glen. My step-dad is a truck driver and criss-crosses the country on a regular basis. This one time he saw an elderly gentleman who was in kind of shabby condition trying to get to California for whatever reason. He was heading to SLC and gave him a lift. In the course of the trip back they became friends. Come to find out he was basically homeless and we offered him a place to stay in order to enjoy a little dignity because it was tacit that he was close to the end. Let me say that its not a good idea to take in homeless strangers we know. But come to find out Glen was an ex-con that robbed banks and had spent most of his life in jail. Glen didn't know how to work mircowave, make a long distance phone call and just some basic kinds of things. With a record and little knowledge of modern taken for granted technologies you could imagine the perdicament of finding a job. Long, long, long story short, Glen robbed a bank and went back to jail because he didn't know any thing else.
Enter Brooks from the shawshank redemption. Yes, I'm aware that its only a movie. The interesting thing about Brooks that he too like Glen and the German had spent most of his life in jail. In the narrative after Brooks gets out of jail is that he remarks on how so many things have changed and he just doesn't know how to get along in the real world.
Enter Leroy. Leroy is by far my favorite uncle. Leroy got invovled in some stuff and went to jail. He is a sucecess story in a lot of ways. One, bless the heart of my aunt first of all for keeping her family together, amazing woman. Two, Leroy did about 5-8 years I can't quite remember. I did remember going to visit him at a half way house though. He has been able to do well, so well that today he owns three or four trucks and drives with my aunt and are doing very well. I'm proud of them for taking risks and making it with their company.
There is something wrong with the correctional system if these problems are not making it. I think my uncle is an exception to the standard when in all reality he should be the standard. If the correctional systems goal is to correct undesirable behavior or to punish undesirable behavior. We are not helping these people rejoin society in a functional way. This begs the question is it the systems responsiblity to rehabilitate people who have broken the law? Yes, because more likely than not the criminal behavior such as, robbing banks will be repeated. I've forgotten Bill. Bill is someone else I know (sounds like I hang out with lots of criminals, nope, just live in West Valley) He was in jail and then went back after robbing a grocery store, he is now out and lives with some family that is very supportive of him and is doing well.
I don't know what the answers are and I hate pointing out a flaw with out an answer.
When a German man who has spent a lot of time in jail says that he doesn't want to leave jail and it is framed as funny or kind of odd. I say NAY, that man needs help getting back in to society he has been in jail since the 1970s. Can you imagine, this world can be quite intimidating.