John Rice Carter: “I think you will agree with me at least in the Texas prison system, an ambitious prisoner who is trying to turn his life…”

“I think you will agree with me at least in the Texas prison system, an ambitious prisoner who is trying to turn his life around can get a bachelor's degree, can also get a master's degree, and I suppose if he stayed in prison long enough, he can get a doctor's degree. One school that has correspondence courses is the University of Maryland, which is not far from here, and a prisoner in the Texas prison system can get the degree of his choice if he is willing to work hard enough there. I happen to know in the Texas prison system one of the most sought-after jobs, and I point out jobs where you work for the skill, is in the print shop with very high tech print training. And most of the people who finish that training, and I have actually had prisoners that I have sent to prison who have asked not to be paroled until they have completed their term of working in the print shop because after they have done their print apprenticeship, they could get jobs coming straight out of prison at $60,000 to $75,000 a year as a master printer. It is not like we are not offering an opportunity to work your way to success in prison today; would you agree with that?”