A majority of prison inmates have poor literacy skills

  • Claim

According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 70% of all incarcerated adults cannot read at a fourth-grade level, “meaning they lack the reading skills to navigate many everyday tasks or hold down anything but lower (paying) jobs.” Data supports that those without sufficient income earned by work are the most prone to crime. Paul Romero, a correction official, once noted, “With legal means of succeeding in society narrowed, illiteracy is heavily implicated in the crimes landing many behind bars in the first place.”

According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 70% of all incarcerated adults cannot read at a fourth-grade level, “meaning they lack the reading skills to navigate many everyday tasks or hold down anything but lower (paying) jobs.” Data supports that those without sufficient income earned by work are the most prone to crime. Paul Romero, a correction official, once noted, “With legal means of succeeding in society narrowed, illiteracy is heavily implicated in the crimes landing many behind bars in the first place.”


Name

A majority of prison inmates have poor literacy skills

Description

A low level of literacy is not a direct determinant of a person’s probability to be convicted on criminal charges, but correctional and judicial professionals have long recognized a connection between poor literacy, dropout rates, and crime.

Types

Claim

Sources

https://www.literacymidsouth.org/news/the-relationship-between-incarceration-and-low-literacy#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20National%20Adult,work%20are%20the%20most%20prone

Supporting arguments

The illiteracy for adult inmates is estimated at 75 percent.