Reentry

According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, approximately 19,000 people are released from prison every year. KBIA’s Rebecca Smith brings us the story of one’s man release from prison – after 37 years.

Senate Bill 36 would allow exonerated defendants to claim damages of $179 per day of wrongful imprisonment with a yearly cap of $65,000.

Missouri prison inmates and the staff who supervise them used the same curriculum to earn associate's degrees.

Restorative justice programs have been a part of corrections in the United States for many decades – think inmates picking up trash along the highway. But as KBIA’s Rebecca Smith reports, one offender-led program in Missouri is taking a different approach – having offenders and staff reflect on what makes a good leader.

For many years, it’s been possible to hear speeches from so-called “scared straight” programs where formerly incarcerated people go into a community and speak about what led them astray, in hopes of steering others clear of the mistakes they made. KBIA’s Rebecca Smith has the story of one event held earlier this year that changed the setting, bringing the audience to the experts, instead of the other way around.

The Missouri Department of Corrections is expanding its medication-assisted treatment program, making more types of medication available to more people in prison.

Incarceration can have a lasting impact on people, which makes community on the outside even more important. KBIA’s Rebecca Smith caught up with some former juvenile lifers on a cool, breezy day in August.

Paige Spears has been incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections for nearly 35 years. At the age of 26, he was given a life sentence plus 30 years for an armed robbery he committed in 1988 – where no one was physically injured. He’s now 62.Betty Cummings is his mother, and still lives in Ferguson, Missouri. She’s now 87-years-old and spoke about how the many years of Paige’s incarceration have impacted her.

Paige Spears has been incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections for nearly 35 years. He was given a life sentence plus 30 years for an armed robbery he committed in 1988 – where no one was physically injured. He spoke a little about how he’s changed while being incarcerated and what he hopes to accomplish if he’s released.

People who are formerly incarcerated and seeking employment are often rejected by employers because of their criminal record.