Breaking the Cycle

By Markola Williams | The Vocal Box News Network

October 19, 2025

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Manitowoc County Jail, WI (Photo Credit: Markola Williams

When people talk about the prison system in America, they often say that once you are in, you are in for life. It is a phrase that speaks to how deeply incarceration can trap someone, not just physically, but mentally and socially. But does it really have to stay that way?

This episode of These Days Podcast explores that question through a real lens, one that looks beyond the bars and into what truly helps people rebuild. VBNN sat down with Shamir Maloney, a rehabilitated former offender who served time in both Ohio and Arizona. Today, he is a music producer, engineer, videographer, husband, and father, living proof that rehabilitation can work when people are given the right tools.

America’s prison system has long struggled with what experts call recidivism, the tendency for released offenders to end up back behind bars. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about five in six people released from prison are arrested again within nine years. That is roughly eighty-three percent. Those numbers sound discouraging, but there has been progress. Over the last two decades, reforms and reentry initiatives have helped push those numbers down closer to thirty-nine percent in recent studies. Education, therapy, and vocational training have been the driving forces behind that shift, the idea that preparing people for success after release reduces their chances of reoffending.

That success, however, is not universal. The programs available to inmates vary widely by state, and even from one facility to another within the same system. As Shamir put it in our interview, "Ohio does not offer you much. You might get a barber program if you have over five years, but it is only at one prison. When he went to prison in Arizona, they had a real college, Eastern Arizona College. That is proof right there that every state runs its system differently.

That difference in opportunity can make or break a person’s future. In Ohio, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction operates one of the most extensive correctional education systems in the country, offering everything from basic literacy and GED prep to trades like HVAC, welding, and barbering. The state even partners with community colleges to help inmates earn real college credits before they are released. These programs are backed by federal laws such as the Second Chance Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which encourage prisons to provide career-ready training.

Arizona has a similar focus but leans heavier on employability. The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry runs Career Technical Education programs in areas like construction, manufacturing, and food service. Through the Inmate Education and Workforce Training Act, the state is required to prepare individuals for work, not just release.

In Wisconsin, the Department of Corrections offers adult education, high school equivalency, and apprenticeships in trades like carpentry, printing, and custodial services. They also partner with technical colleges across the state, helping incarcerated individuals earn recognized certifications. All three states operate under the same federal guidance, including initiatives like the Second Chance Pell Program, which lets eligible inmates access federal financial aid for college. But the reach and accessibility of those programs still depend on where you are, how much time you have, and your security level inside.

The difference between someone turning their life around and someone reoffending often comes down to access and mindset. Overcrowded prisons mean long waiting lists for classes and limited openings in vocational programs. Shamir talked about how the HVAC program filled up before he could enroll, and how many inmates did not even want to try. He said that other inmates believed that the system was just making money off them. That mindset, the belief that nothing will change, is one of the biggest challenges to real rehabilitation. Many people simply do not believe in the system anymore. And honestly, in some cases, they have reason not to. Too often, programs are optional, underfunded, or treated like privileges instead of priorities.

If an institution can control every part of your life, from when you eat to when you can make a phone call, why can it not also mandate education and skill-building as part of your rehabilitation? If the system wants to truly correct, it has to do more than confine.

Even when people do complete programs and earn their certifications, they face new barriers when they walk out. Access to mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and housing are the biggest challenges for reentry. Probation and parole agencies across the country offer help, connecting individuals to job training, therapy, and transitional housing, but it is not always consistent. Mental health is often the most overlooked piece of rehabilitation. As I said during the show, if you are not going to take the time to learn me, to learn what I like, what I am good at, what I want to do, how can you expect me not to fall back into the same cycle?

Some people just need direction. And when they do get that chance, the results speak for themselves. Shamir told VBNN about "finding an HVAC job within twenty-four hours of being released. Eighteen months later, he ended up fixing the air conditioner of one of the same guys who used to clown him for taking classes inside". That is full-circle success.

There is no way to talk about recidivism without acknowledging race. Data shows that Black men are rearrested at about seventy-three percent within three years, compared to roughly sixty percent for both White and Hispanic men. This is not just about crime, it is about opportunity. Black individuals are less likely to be placed in educational programs or job pipelines while incarcerated, and that inequality follows them after release. It is not about playing the race card, it is about playing fair.

The system can either break people or build people. Education, mental health care, and job training are not luxuries, they are the foundation for real rehabilitation. Investing in those things saves lives, strengthens families, and creates safer communities. It is easy to read statistics and talk policy, but what we really need is accountability, not just from those serving time, but from the system itself.

If we can keep pushing for stronger reentry programs, better education, and more consistent access to opportunity, maybe once you are in the system, you are in for life will finally stop being true.