Jackson Free Press

Would it be so bad to have expectations of our state's youthful offenders? There is an increasing number of offenders under the age of 17 spanning the color spectrum; and seeming no place to house juvenile inmates that is free of corruption since the recent scandal at Walnut Grove. So what of a solution to the ever growing problem? Don't we still have a responsibility to attempt to educate our stray youth, to sway them back onto the path toward being a responsible addition to society? At least the non-violent offenders with time to develop skills and make something more of their futures.

I recommend the state use the resources at hand. The exists an institution just south of the state capital with all the required resources to operate and administer proper educational and housing needs to more than 500 students and has a history of working with underprivileged or otherwise at risk youth and encouraging them to make remarkable changes within their lives most times leading to college or military service. It is a classically christian place and no doubt many have heard its name. It spans more than 2,000 acres and could be easily transformed to meet the needs currently demanded and make a significant change in the production of quality citizens before they become saturated by the inherent sin within the adult correctional system.

I believe Mississippi could use the funds currently earmarked for the rehabilitation and housing of youthful non-violent offenders under the age of 17 in a more productive way and that the answer has been thriving in below the Capital for over 100 years.

It is time for us to more than fear our youth and consequently our future. We must engender them with expectations and a sense of social responsibility and moral value. We owe them the opportunity to be more than what their environment has offered and nurtured them to be. And, for once, we can make a significant change in the lives of many by doing what we are going to do anyway---spend an increasing amount of money and resources housing them. MDOC already pays 20% more than most public schools in the state to educate and rehabilitate young offenders and has requested over $4.3 million in funds to administer and operate the program for 2013. We could use those funds to invest in the lives of these children and not to invest in a system that has proved time and time again to be adverse to the education of our Great State's youth.

What if they Piney Woods School was transformed to provide education, housing, and an environment free of the world's distractions and conducive becoming a contribution to society by taking the most essential element of our state's future and creating worth... We pay more to house and rehabilitate our youth within correctional facilities with violent and sexual offenders than to put them through college. ($9,000 vs $6,000) Lets end the cycle and show we care....any advice ...