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Corrections Today, December 1991, Vol.
53, No. 7
A Powerful Cure? by Dana M. Murray Representatives of Maharishi Consultants International (MCI) in Fairfield, Iowa, say Transcendental Meditation could be a powerful cure for crowding and high recidivism in U.S. prisons. Transcendental Meditation, known as TM, is a self-development technique in which meditators sit in a comfortable position for two 20-minute periods a day, close their eyes and silently practice a special mental procedure that produces a deeply relaxed, yet fully alert state. The technique is intended to enable individuals to fully reach their mental and physical potential. According to MCI spokesman Bill Crist, during TM "the mind experiences quieter, more orderly levels of the thought process. Simultaneously, the body gains a profound state of rest, which releases deep-rooted stress. "Stress blocks the expression of an individual's full potential and erodes the health and creativity of society," Crist says. "When stress goes unchecked it builds and flares up in the form of crime and other social ills."
According to MCI, about 2,700 inmates and more than 250 correctional officers have been taught the technique in 28 facilities throughout the United States. The International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice reports that this relaxation method has been used in several prisons in California, where 950 inmates have learned TM through private funding since 1975. As a result, there was a 35 percent decrease in recidivism five years after the participating inmates were paroled, saving the state more than $1 million. The technique also has been used in privately funded prison programs in Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont. Farrokh Anklesaria, international director of TM prison programs at MCI, spearheaded a project in Senegal, West Africa, where he and other TM representatives taught the technique to 11,000 inmates in 31 prisons. "The prisons eventually had to be shut down because recidivism was greatly reduced," Anklesaria said at a conference in Washington, D.C., for local prison officials last spring. Before the TM program was introduced in Senegal in January 1987, inmates there returned to prison at a rate of about 90 percent within the first month. After TM had been instituted, a study of 2,400 inmates released through an amnesty in June 1988 revealed that fewer than 200 of them returned within the first six months-8O percent of those who returned did not practice the technique. Col. Mamadou Diop, Senegal's corrections director, credited meditation with the drop in recidivism, stating that "considering that there is no structure or scheme for the reintegration of inmates into society, nor is there any provision for work or jobs for those released, it appears that the only possible explanation for this remarkable drop in recidivism in our country is to he found in the application of (the TM) program." Diop reported in January 1989 that as a result of reducing recidivism, Senegal had closed three prisons and eight others were idled at six to 30 percent capacity. Representatives of MCI report that more than 500 scientific studies on TM have been conducted by universities and research institutions such as Harvard and UCLA, and more than 200 have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals like the Journal of Criminal Justice and International Journal of Addiction. The topics of these studies have ranged from the application of the TM program to corrections to the use of TM in the prevention of drug abuse and in the treatment of drug-addicted persons. Is TM the solution prison officials have been waiting for? Consider the perspectives of several corrections officials, a former inmate, a TM teacher and an inmate now in prison.
Because correctional officers' jobs are so stressful, some have taken an interest in learning TM. According to Lt. Bill McMillan, hearing officer for disciplinaries at the California State Prison, San Quentin, the technique benefits not only the individual but the institution as a whole. The TM program was at San Quentin from 1978 until 1988, when funding ran out. McMillan says during that time disciplinary reports stopped for about 90 percent of the inmates who practiced TM, and their behavior changed dramatically. "I have been practicing TM for six years and can honestly say that when the program was here, San Quentin was a better place due to Transcendental Meditation," McMillan says. "Inmates who were considered `hardcore' and skeptical were shocked and delighted with the real and tangible effects from their practice of the TM program." The positive outcomes of TM have also been praised and recommended to corrections departments by corrections officials such as ACA Past President T. Don Hutto. "It has been shown in a number of instances that Transcendental Meditation contributes to the reduction of violence in institutions and also to the reduction of stress in correctional employees," he says. Rudy DeLeon. former deputy secretary of Adult Corrections in the California Youth and Adult Corrections Agency, also feels that TM is an effective rehabilitative vehicle for reducing institutional violence and recidivism. "As one who practices the technique, it has helped me to relax, think more clearly, immediately recover from a stressful encounter, and to make effective, in-depth decisions," he says.
At age 50, Pat Corum, an ex-offender, is satisfied with the direction his life is taking. Happily married for eight years, he recently completed pre-law studies with a 3.7 grade point average at the California State University at Bakersfield and has been out of prison on parole for about four years. However, things have not always gone this well. Convicted of murder and sentenced to two life terms, Corum served about 25 years in prison. Most of his sentence was carried out at California's Folsom Prison. His first murder resulted from a failed drug deal. His second was the execution of a fellow inmate, directed by gang leaders. He credits TM for the turnaround in his life. "Had it not been for TM, I would either be dead or still in prison," he says. In 1975 Corum met George Ellis, a former correctional services officer who was teaching philosophy courses at Folsom. "I had never met a person who appeared so tranquil, relaxed, full of energy, and above all, showed no fear," Corum recalls. "I said to him, `Man, whatever miracle drug you're on, I want some.'" Ellis replied, "I'm not on drugs, I'm on TM." With Ellis' teaching, Corum became the first inmate to learn TM, paying for the instruction himself with money saved from handicraft sales.
TM allowed him to release stress and evaluate his life from a new perspective. "After meditating, I could actually think and feel emotions other than anger and madness for the first time in my life," Corum says. When other inmates saw the positive changes in Corum, they became interested in learning how to meditate. Corum then convinced Folsom officials to conduct a TM session with some of the most notorious gangs in prison. Correctional officers also participated. The rule for both parties was that no weapons could be present. "It was really strange sitting in a room with 40 of the roughest men in the prison with our eyes closed," Corum said. The group consisted of members of the Black Panthers, the Mexican Mafia, Hell's Angels and the Aryan Brotherhood."
Not just a teacher of TM, Ellis has worked as a correctional service officer in the county jails of San Mateo Calif., as a guidance counselor in residential treatment facilities for the mentally disturbed, and as a drug resource specialist at the California Youth Authority, where he has taught juveniles TM. Having taught TM in prisons for 17 years, Ellis says he has seen the program alleviate enormous human pain and suffering. It also significantly reduces stress, improves memory and health, and boosts self-esteem and self-worth, he says. He feels TM would be more widely used in U.S. prisons if corrections officials were more open-minded about the treatment. While not wholly dismissing TM, some prison officials stress the importance of using this method with other treatments. Jasper Ormond, director of the Pilot Substance Abuse Treatment Program at Lorton, warns that TM supporters should not rely on it as the sole method of turning inmates' lives around. "Because inmates come to prison with a complexity of deficiencies, we must use a holistic approach in rehabilitating them," Ormond says. "Although TM is effective, it is not a cure-all. It must be used with other programs such as AA or NA in order for the inmate to get the full effect." Ellis argues, however, that corrections officials are moving too slowly in adopting TM as a viable part of their treatment programs. "If the corrections departments had conducted as many scientific studies on TM in prisons as research institutions have, they would he saving themselves tens of millions of dollars," Ellis says. In 1982 Ellis was part of an extensive demonstration project at the Vermont Department of Corrections in which 150 correctional professionals and 360 inmates -- 4O percent of the total inmate population -- were taught to meditate. After the two-week experimental period, there was a 30 percent reduction in institutional problems. In addition, employees reported they felt less hostile, anxious and stressed. Ellis cites another example in which a 17-year-old male at the California Youth Authority committed an average of 17 assaults per month before learning the technique. In the following four months, he committed just one assault. There is no doubt in Ellis' mind about the effectiveness and success of TM. "I would like to challenge any institution in the United States to give us a cell block or an entire prison and let us fully integrate the program. I guarantee nobody can match the results," he said.
Another TM success story is Glen Bailey, a six-foot six inch, 282-pound convicted murderer. Sentenced to life, Bailey was headed nowhere fast when he entered San Quentin 21 years ago. For the past 15 years Bailey has been practicing the technique. He is now involved in a prison ministry program, and he will be paroled in l8 months. He credits TM with his rehabilitation. "Now my life has a focus," Bailey said. "I can read and complete a book, or write a letter. Prior to learning TM, I was a walking timebomb ready to explode." Studies show that the United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. Ninety-five percent of inmates will return to society, and 60 percent will commit a crime sending them back to prison. If TM can reduce recidivism rates and improve inmate behavior, perhaps meditation, not increased construction, is the answer to alleviating our country's crowded prisons. Dana M. Murray is production editor for Corrections Today. Reprinted with permission of the American Correctional Association, Lanham, Maryland. |
