Inmates to Learn Ethics in Prison

A new program aimed at changing the way young offenders think in order to change their behavior gets underway in Division of Prisons this summer.

"We are responsible for public safety. In the short-term this means walls and barbed wire. In the long-term this is achieved by producing behavioral change," explained Keith Hester, chief of Program Services for DOP. "All programs that seek to change behavior have an ethical core."

The Institute for Global Ethics will provide the model for teaching ethical decision-making to female and youthful inmates and will train staff members. Besides learning the difference between right and wrong choices (moral temptations) and right and right choices (ethical dilemmas), inmates will learn to analyze and resolve these dilemmas based on shared ethical values.

"We have found, particularly in our work with inner-city youth in Los Angeles, that by providing individuals with the tools to view their actions through the lens of ethics, decision-making becomes a much more deliberative and positive experience," said Institute for Global Ethics Vice President, Patricia Brousseau.

"The Institute for Global Ethics is paving the way for a unique training program which may have far-reaching results in improving an inmate’s character and helping him or her live a more productive life," said Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis. "We hope that the state’s young offenders will be motivated by ethics training, a much needed link to help offenders understand the value of good morals."

NC DOC Correction News- May 1997
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