This is what Tommy Winfrey, an inmate at San Quentin State Prison, believes: “When society locks up an individual and provides no means by which the offender can understand why he /she committed crimes in the first place, so there will be no corrective behavior. I never got any information from being put in a cell. Instead I simply became defensive and tried to rationalize my behavior. That being said, I believe successful rehabilitation begins with education. When I started attending college, I started to discover some things about myself. I began to realize that I didn't have all the answers in life. Vocational training has also given me the certainty that I do not have to depend on crime to support myself.” Educating prisoners would be the best way to lower recidivism rates and possibly crime rates. Prisoners need guidance and training so that when they are released they have a plan to follow. If prisons continue to punish them, they will not learn what they are supposed to do and will not return to their old habits. They must be given the opportunity to heal and learn so that they can understand the dynamics in their lives that led them to the crime they committed. There are countless interviews with ex-prisoners and most of them believe that education in prison is a necessity. They want the chance to learn and get a job so they can provide for themselves. Exposing them to programs will benefit them because the recidivism rate will decrease and potentially crime