LIFERS BARRED FROM ACCESSING COLLEGE IN PRISON
February 1, 2025
New research from Bennington College finds that over 85% of those serving a life sentence today are prevented from accessing college in prison programs.
On January 24-25, college in prison educators, advocates for sentencing reform, and formerly incarcerated individuals gathered at Bennington College to discuss preliminary findings from new research on the life sentence and college education. Led by the Prison Education Initiative (PEI) at Bennington College, this research is the very first national study on the issue.
Those gathered applauded the Bennington team for shining a bright light on an alarming trend: as lifers make up a greater proportion of the incarcerated population in America, this research documents how they are systematically prevented from accessing college programs.
Today, 1 in 6 people in prison are serving a life sentence. New research from Bennington College found that the vast majority of states currently ban or restrict lifers from participating in college in prison programs.
“The life sentence marks what lies beyond humanity in America today. As our research so clearly documents, states across our nation now prevent lifers from accessing college or any horizon beyond their cell. Yet never has the transformative power of the humanities been clearer to me than when teaching a classroom full of lifers,” said David Bond, co-founder of PEI and lead researcher of this study.
For the 200,000 Americans currently serving a life sentence, accessing college can be transformative for their wellbeing, dignity, and the prison community. “College saved my life,” one lifer told researchers. Yet many serving long sentences voice real concerns about how difficult it is for them to access college.
With the support of the Mellon Foundation, researchers at Bennington College spent a year researching educational policy within the department of corrections in all 50 states, interviewing over 60 college-in-prison educators working in 45 different states, and talking with a handful of formerly incarcerated individuals that found college education vital to surviving the life sentence they were given. As the first study of its kind, this research documents both the value of extending college education to lifers and the tremendous obstacles that currently prevent lifers from enrolling in college programs.
“Our research highlights an uncomfortable fact. While a handful of state policies formally exclude lifers from college, many more informal practices make that exclusion an everyday fact inside American prisons,” said researcher Elinor Phillips.
The Bennington College team uncovered a few outright bans and all manner of barriers that prevent lifers from accessing college in prison. Arizona, Florida, and Texas each expressly prohibit those serving a life sentence from accessing college in prison programs.
Far more prevalent than outright bans are formal barriers that limit access to college for lifers. Many states have policies that prioritize admissions to college programs by release date (23 states) or custody level (22 states) or exclude lifers from GED programs or financial aid (17 states). These all have the effect of constantly pushing lifers to the back of the line when they attempt to enroll in college programs.
36 states have at least one of these barriers in place and 23 states have at least two barriers in place. These barriers confront the vast majority of lifers. 86% of those serving a life sentence are in a state that explicitly limits their access to college programs.
Researchers also identified a prevalent culture of restriction in many state correction departments, one that consistently sideline lifers from college programs, even in the absence of any policy directive to do so.
Alongside these cultures of restriction, researchers identified a number of “soft exclusions” that limit college programs in the maximum-security facilities where lifers are often clustered.
College-in-prison programs in nearly every state voiced enthusiasm for the value of including lifers in prison. A few exemplary college programs are responding to exclusionary trends by proactively reserving spots in their classes for lifers. Other programs are building new opportunities for lifers to continue their education after the degree.
“During the ten years of offering Bennington courses at a maximum-security men’s prison, we learned the value of those students serving a life or very long sentences, both in their hunger for education and the positive influence they cast over younger students. Their mentorship of new students, their influence in encouraging others to apply, and the high bar of excellence in academic achievement they set all contributed to the success of our program,” said Annabel Davis-Goff, the co-founder of PEI and a researcher on this project.
A final report will be released in March 2025.
Background: Incarceration in America Initiative at Bennington College
The United States has the highest documented rate of incarceration in the world, a rate that has increased by more than 400 percent in the past 40 years. In response to this crisis, Bennington College launched the Incarceration in America initiative, which has included course curriculum, visiting speakers, theatrical events, think tanks, and four conferences focused on developing public policy and political action in the post-tough-on-crime era. Since its inception in 2014, Bennington has partnered with many organizations doing important work in this field, including JustLeadershipUSA, The Fortune Society, Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, and Housing+Solutions. Through this initiative, Bennington has addressed topics as far-reaching as higher education in prisons, the aging incarcerated population, women in prison, how to redefine justice and effect change, immigrant detention and deportation, alternatives to incarceration, and more.
Recent Events
October 21-22, 2022 | Continuing Education in Prisons, part II
October 1-2, 2021 | Continuing Education in Prisons
April 26-27, 2019 | The Role and Future of the Liberal Arts in Prison
May 11-12, 2018 | Immigration Detention | Watch here
April 28-29, 2017 | The Future of Higher Education in Prison | Watch here
September 17, 2017 | Women's Community Justice Project
May 6-7, 2016 | Incarceration in America: Redefining Justice | Watch here
October 3, 2015 | Incarceration in America: Fall 2015 Forum | Watch here
May 15-16, 2015 | Incarceration in America: Effecting Change | Watch here
April 11, 2015 | Higher Education in Prisons: Think Tank | Watch here
March 17, 2015 | The Castle: Performance
October 10-11, 2014 | Incarceration in America: Fall 2014 Conference | Watch here
April 17, 2014 | 40 Years Later: Rightsizing the U.S. Criminal Justice System
