Donna Moore began coding classes knowing next to nothing about computers, joking that computer code might as well been in French. Moore, a prisoner at Indiana Women’s Prison (IWP) began learning computer coding through The Last Mile, a nonprofit that teaches the skill to reduce recidivism.
The more she learned, the more Moore realized that coding is not only scientific but also creative. Every time Moore creates a new project, with her favorite being a target blaster game, she celebrates. Moore found herself thinking about coding in her spare time.
“Just creativity in itself, letting it be able to come to life is more than I would have thought that I could do,” Moore said.
Founded in California’s San Quentin State Prison, Indiana is the second state to implement The Last Mile’s coding program. Volunteers from both in and outside the state teach prisoners coding. Classes cover everything from game creation to website design.
Currently, two Indiana prisons offer the program: IWP and Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility. Jack Cochran, one of the founding members of The Last Mile, plans to expand it to three additional Indiana correctional facilities, including men’s prisons, in the next few months. He also wants to offer other programs focused on different skills such as entrepreneurship.
“It literally puts people back to work,” Cochran said. “All these folks in prison, they’re not dumb. They’re very, very smart, and they’ve just never had a chance.”
The program occurs in special coding rooms filled with computers. Institutions such as IWP forbid prisoners from using the internet, so students work on a closed network and rely on coding books. Other than that, the program looks similar to regular coding classes.
“Students are effectively the same as students on the outside,” Quincy Williams, a coding instructor at IWP, said. “They have the same questions, the same concerns, the same fears and the same aspirations.”
IWP’s Warden Laurie Johnson said the prison’s coding students are dedicated to the classes. Inmates with discipline problems improve their behavior while in The Last Mile’s coding program, she noted. Johnson theorized inmates realize coding’s potential job opportunities and don’t wish to waste them. According to the National Institute of Justice, 76.6 percent of prisoners are arrested again within five years of release, so a path to a viable career and avoiding a return to prison are appealing to many prisoners.
For Lisa Van, coding offers both a better future and a new passion. She discovered a love for creating websites though The Last Mile. Van has created a few so far, including a profile of herself for job searching. She hopes to eventually work as a website designer because it will give her independence, allowing her to avoid the people and settings that got her into trouble.
“My main motivation is my kids,” Van said. “I have a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old, and [I love] just to talk about computers with them. They love technology, too. … This is an opportunity to have tech talk with my kids and an opportunity to rehabilitate educationally.”
Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar.
An inmate in Indiana Women’s Prison takes a computer coding classes. (Photo/Ben Lashar)
