I used to work in Tennessee prisons. Here's my reply to ex TDOC head Tony Parker | Opinion

• Tony Parker's guest opinion column.
• We can no longer allow the system to incarcerate without a plan to rehabilitate in a way. That is meaningful to those incarcerated and their families.
• Michelle is an educator in the Sociology Department at Tennessee State University.

Re: "Tennesseans must understand their connection to formerly incarcerated," by Tony Parker, April 17.

I was impressed by Tony Parker's guest opinion column in the April 17 issue of The Tennessean.

Whereas I am sure you do not remember me, I worked within the jaws of the Tennessee Correctional system as a mental health professional and administrator at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and Northwest Correctional Complex.

What an arduous journey. To be able to function daily as correctional staff, prison administrators, healthcare and mental health workers is still beyond me. The observations within will always resonate within my being, yet there is still work to do.

Now that you are no longer the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), how do we begin to solve the mystery of correctional chaos in America?

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We must not see the less fortunate as a 'distant commodity'

As of now, we recognize that defunding the police is a fallacy; therefore, we need the trained and well observed policing the streets. I wrote policing, but I meant that we need policy in these streets.

In terms of who goes to jail, why does there always need to be a profile? This fallacy alone is what affects incarceration reform.

So, just imagine being the kid who recently became a public example over a bag of stolen chips. This is how it starts. There is already a negative response to the police, so why do we keep allowing negativism instead of grace?

Power often enables power, and strength enables strength. But to see the less fortunate as a distant commodity, is a prescribed formula that views life through the lens of the chosen one percent— which, in theory, are the fittest for survival, while others are written off.

This is often the multifaceted view of the incarcerated. Where is the equity?

No one should be the victim of a society’s depiction of less, because all people deserve to look at themselves in the mirror and see themselves as the audacity of hope.

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We need a plan to rehabilitate all incarcerated people

The prison system is an example of what happens when hope dies, and when someone is negatively sanctioned and labeled as a permanent threat. The danger is this, the label becomes internalized, making recidivism vs. rehabilitation the reality of an advanced society.

We know this too well, Mr. Parker, and, while I am so grateful that you are now operating in the capacity as president of a nonprofit organization and the American Corrections Association (ACA), it is now time for action on all levels.

What does this mean? Only time will tell, but we can no longer allow the system to incarcerate without a plan to rehabilitate in a way that is meaningful to those incarcerated, their families and those who work to address their needs and society.

Coming full circle means that correction should no longer be tied to recidivism. If money is the goal, the system is a dysfunction, a disease and in need of repair.

No longer shall we allow a debunked, outdated and broken system to define correctional outcomes at the expense of human lives. The conversation is on the table. 

Let's talk soon.  

Michelle Randolph, Ph.D., is a professor in the sociology department at Tennessee State University.