Editorial

Veterans in prison are still veterans

Friday, September 2, 2016

Putnamville Correctional Facility is often held at arm's length by the Putnam County community at large.

On the surface, it makes sense -- nearly 2,200 offenders housed in the midst of rural Putnam County (nearly 60 percent of the population of Warren Township), the arrests that appear in these pages as a result of trafficking with inmates, the rarer times more serious charges come about from the violence that inevitably occurs in correctional facilities.

Those are all valid criticisms of having a prison in this or any community.

On the other hand, it shortchanges the positivies Putnamville brings to this community. At 102 years old, you'd be hard pressed to find many employers who've stuck around Putnam County quite so long. The facility employs 500 people, the bulk of them drawn from Putnam or Clay counties.

Then there are the positives that are being done for the offenders at Putnamville.

The culinary arts program at Putnamville springs quickly to mind, how it prepares offenders for a trade when the day comes that they regain their freedom.

GED and college degree programs provide similar opportunities for the inmates.

The retired thoroughbred and greyhound programs also provide inmates with a sense of purpose and, perhaps more importantly, promote the empathy to care for another living being.

Recently, we've been seeing just the latest example of such programs in the newly-established Adam Brown Memorial American Legion Post 208, which which has elected officers (see page 1A) and boasts around 25 members.

We can imagine some of you saying, "What does a prison need with an American Legion?"

The short answer is it doesn't need a Legion post any more than it needs any of the programming it provides for offenders.

However, a Legion post, like so many other programs at Putnamville and other facilities, serves as a reminder that there is life after incarceration. Such a program can provide a head start on that new life.

"For veterans, joining the Legion helps reconnect them with men who have similar life experiences," Putnamville Chaplain Jacinda Estle-Cronau said. "Many offenders become separated from society before and during incarceration. The more connected to society they are when they re-enter, the better chance they will stay connected and not re-offend."

Having formerly served as program coordinator for the Indiana Veterans Education and Transition Unit, Estle-Cronau came to her Putnamville with past experience of starting a legion post at another facility. Previous efforts at Putnamville met with roadblocks, so she took on the chore after she arrived.

Besides the Legion giving offenders a chance to connect with a larger group on the outside, it can give them a desire to serve others.

"Legion Posts are a great way for offenders to have a chance to give back to society as well," Estle-Cronau said. "Posts raise funds and donate to local and national charities, helping the men start to think about the welfare of others, another positive step toward successful re-entry."

The Legion can also provide for the offenders' post-incarceration needs, assisting them with applying for veterans' benefits they may have lost or never applied for while on the outside.

To return to the question of need, no, Putnamville doesn't need an American Legion post. But correctional facilities are more about the needs of society.

As much as society needs criminals to be sent away, we also need them to return to society as changed men.

We need to give them to tools to succeed "outside the fence."

We also need to allow our veterans a chance at basic dignity, even if they are serving debts to society.

Legion Post 208 provides for those needs and it's an effort that's to be applauded.