When San Francisco-based venture capitalists Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti walked into San Quentin State Prison in 2010 to speak with a group of inmates that a friend was mentoring, they didnt know what exactly to expect.
But the men behind bars, whom Redlitz described as the most engaged audience Ive ever spoken to, blew him away with their enthusiasm -- and business plans. That means a lot given Redlitz's extensive background advising and investing in digital media and tech startups such as LevelUp, Wish and Bottlenose through his work with Transmedia Capital .
The experience at San Quentin, Redlitz said, started him thinking: What if they created something to engage those men, sitting idle for years upon years in Californias oldest prison, and help them turn their ideas into reality? Parenti was not enamored with the idea, he recalled.
Putting skepticism aside, they began to research prison programs in the United States, and that same year their passion project was born: The Last Mile . TLM is an intensive tech entrepreneurship program for San Quentin inmates that Redlitz and Parenti hope can be a model for prison education.
[The inmates] have no sort of attachment or information or exposure to the people from the outside. They dont have a conduit to it, Redlitz said. I figured we could leverage the relationships we have in Silicon Valley and be that conduit to others, for them to be educated and get involved.
Chris Redlitz speaks during a meeting of The Last Mile's tech entrepreneurship program.
TLM is bringing tech expertise to address one of the American criminal justice system's biggest problems: high recidivism rates .
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In the United States, according to the most recent data from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 68 percent of state prisoners released in 2005 were re-arrested within three years. Given that 2.3 million people are currently incarcerated nationwide -- and that it costs taxpayers an average of $31,286 a year to incarcerate just one inmate -- the price of recidivism is huge for cash-strapped states and devastating for those who end up, again, behind bars.
Research has shown that in-prison education programs can go a long way toward reducing the recidivism rate. According to a 2013 Rand Corporation report , which was supported by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, each $1 invested in prison education reduces incarceration costs by $4 to $5 over the first three years after an inmates release. Further, inmates who participate in education programs behind bars are an estimated 43 percent less likely to re-offend.
"Our findings suggest that we no longer need to debate whether correctional education works," Rand senior policy researcher Lois Davis wrote in the report. "But we do need more research to tease out which parts of these programs work best.
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Meanwhile, government funding for prison education programs has been on the decline , which leaves many former inmates with few employment skills upon their release, driving them right back where they came from.
Participants in The Last Mile's tech entrepreneurship program, the first of its kind in the United States.
TLM is attempting to fill that void. Its entrepreneurship program meets two times a week for six months and relies on instruction from volunteer mentors, guest speakers and even alumni of the program, themselves former inmates.
Participants, some of whom are on the tail end of long sentences and have never even used the Internet, learn how to use computers, how to connect on social media -- tweeting and blogging through handwritten messages transcribed by volunteers -- and how to form a business. The program has the support of the California Department of Corrections and Prison Rehabilitation.
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Each run of TLM is capped off by Demo Day, during which participants present their ideas for startups to an audience thats a mix of fellow inmates and some of Silicon Valleys best and brightest. The event was featured in a mini-documentary from filmmaker Ondi Timoner , released last month by Wired magazine.
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"WIRED","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftwRNsjfRo08xYE31tkiyw","cache_age":86400,"description":"Subscribe for more: http://wrd.cm/15fP7B7 | Theres a tech incubator popping up, but its not in Silicon Valleyits inside San Quentin State Prison. The Last Mile program teaches inmates entrepreneurship skills with the goal that each participant founds a socially conscious, tech-forward company. Award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner goes inside the innovative non-profit and follows inmates as they work to craft a business plan, pitch their ideas in front of venture capitalists, and then, transition back into society. \n\nStill havent subscribed to WIRED on YouTube? http://wrd.cm/15fP7B7 \r\n\r\nCONNECT WITH WIRED\r\nWeb: http://wired.com \r\nTwitter: https://twitter.com/WIRED \r\nFacebook: https://facebook.com/WIRED\r\nPinterest: https://pinterest.com/wired\r\nGoogle+: https://plus.google.com/+WIRED \r\nInstagram: http://instagram.com/WIRED \r\nTumblr: http://WIRED.tumblr.com \r\n\r\nWant even more? Subscribe to The Scene: http://bit.ly/subthescene \n\nThe Last Mile: Inside San Quentin's Tech Incubator by Ondi Timoner | WIRED\n\nFeaturing: Kenyatta Leal, Heracio Harts, Tulio Cardozo, Chris Schuhmacher, Darnell Hill, Ray Ho, Harry Hemphill, Eddie Griffin, Caleb Hunter, Damon Cooke, Brian Solis, Brian Solis, Erik Moore, Chris Redlitz, and Beverly Parenti\n\nDirected by: Ondi Timoner\r\nProduced by: Andrew Landini\r\nProducers: Brooks Knudsen, Adam Eckenfelder, Nick Corcorran, Ondi Timoner\r\nCinematography: Andrew Landini\r\nCamera: Brooks Knudsen, Ondi Timoner\r\nEditor: Michael Colin Russell\r\nProduction Sound Mixer: Adam Eckenfelder\r\nMotion Design: Cullen Parr\r\nComposer: Roger Neill\r\n\n\r\n\r\nMusic:\r\n"Holes [Instrumental]" by Great Northern\r\n"An Explanation [Instrumental]" by The Album Leaf\r\n"A Look Back [Instrumental]" by The Album Leaf\r\n"The Light" by The Album Leaf\r\n"Zeros & Ones" by Minutes Til Midnight\r\n"Ripple [Instrumental]" by Great Northern\r\n"Am I Lucky" by Oslo\n\r\n\r\nSPECIAL THANKS:\r\nChris Redlitz & Beverly Parenti\r\nLt. Sam Robinson\r\nSan Quentin State Prison\r\nCalifornia Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation\r\nThe Last Mile Alumni & Current Class\r\n\n\r\n"Landini Media" shares Title with Interloper/A TOTAL DISRUPTION","provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yTpGj7Vq3E4/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"The Last Mile: Inside San Quentin's Tech Incubator by Ondi Timoner | 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