1st June 2010
"...[R]ehabilitation is a word that used to make me want to to spit."
These are the words of writer and Guardian blogger, Erwin James. James, a former prisoner who served 20 years inside, entered the prison system as, in his own words, a "damaged, ignorant brute".
Turned on to the study of history and philosophy by a prison psychologist, James earned his first degree via the Open University while still in prison, and began writing newspaper articles from within prison, before becoming a regular blogger for the Guardian in 2000.
Alternately cynical and hopeful about the prospects of rehabilitation, James was recently nominated for a Performance Award and believes that the goal of rehabilitation is still something worth striving for.
Read the original article in the Guardian.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.