A testimony of the effects of education on incarcerated people

Abstract

The first higher education course at the Reclusorio Metropolitano in Puente Grande, Jalisco, Mexico began in February 2017. Four of the ten incarcerated students registered in the course had previously studied a Bachelor’s degree, but only one of them had earned it inside the penitentiary system.

This text recounts a man’s efforts to study within the confines of a prison, how he has used education to improve himself, and the profound effect this has had on his life and his environment. Pancho’s story took place in a federal prison; in Jalisco, Inside-Out is the first higher education program in the history of the state’s penitentiary system. This testimony shows the value of education for incarcerated people and their processes of reinsertion into society. Pancho’s words inspire admiration for his perseverance and his determination to study, and are proof of the need to increase the academic offer available to incarcerated people in Mexico. Education is without a doubt one of the best means to promote justice, reduce social inequality, and fight the criminality generated by the multiple forms of structural violence in our society.