95% of all prison inmates will be released at some point. Wyoming Chronicle reports on the state’s efforts to prepare those inmates for life without bars.
Wyoming Chronicle goes behind the wire for a look at the state’s prison system and how it prepares inmates to reenter society. We begin at the Honor Farm in Riverton, where inmates work with wild horses culled from over burdened federal range land. Producer Stefani Smith tells the story of how working together, they teach each other the lessons needed to prepare for their lives after incarceration.
Next, we visit the medium security correctional institution in Torrington. Completed in 2010, this facility is where every new male inmate begins his sentence with an evaluation. While in Torrington, Wyoming Chronicle host Richard Ager sat down for an in-depth interview with Torrington Warden Steven Garrett and Christy Hahn, head of a state-wide task force working to lower the recidivism rate. A recent report by the Pew Center shows that Wyoming has succeeded in reducing the numbers of former inmates who reoffend and end up back in prison to the second lowest in the country, after Oregon.
The program concludes with an update on how a former inmate is faring after his release from prison 6 months before. We hear about the progress he has made and the challenges he still faces.
