"College For Convicts" by incarcerated writer Christopher Zoukis explores how prison education can thwart the school-to-prison pipeline and curb recidivism.

PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, June 1, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- With the U.S. presidential election in full swing, penal reform and prison education have become a hot-button political topic among the leading candidates.

Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and even outgoing President Barack Obama have brought up the need for changes to America's broken penal system. "College for Convicts", a book by incarcerated writer Christopher Zoukis, provides concrete evidence that substantive change is urgently needed to halt the school-to-prison pipeline and reduce rampant recidivism rates across the United States.

"A college degree today is yesterday's high school diploma," says Zoukis, an outspoken prison education activist housed at FCI Petersburg (medium) in Virginia. "If prisoners aren't provided with the tools needed to succeed, then they will fail post-release by returning to crime. This is exactly what contributes to today's sky-high recidivism rates."

Zoukis says he's pleased that politicians are at least acknowledging the need for greater access to education for prisoners, but notes lip service alone won't address related issues such as prison overcrowding, the death penalty, solitary confinement, poor health care and service privatization. "At the end of the day, the 'lock them up and throw away the key' approach is clearly not working. The only real solution to America's prison crisis is to help get inmates the education and vocational training they need to leave prison behind and reintegrate into society."

Earlier this year, Christopher Zoukis also released Prison Education Guide (Prison Legal News Publishing, 2016), a comprehensive guide to correspondence programs for prisoners. More information is available upon request.

About Christopher Zoukis
Christopher Zoukis is an award-winning writer whose work has been published widely in national publications such as the Huffington Post, Prison Legal News and a variety of websites, blogs and legal forums. More information is available at www.prisoneducation.com and www.christopherzoukis.com.

Media Inquiries
Christopher Zoukis is pleased to speak with media by telephone about topics related to prison education and justice reform. For more information or to book an interview, email media@prisoneducation.com or send a request in writing to:

Christopher Zoukis
Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg
P.O. Box 1000, #22132-058
Petersburg, VA 23804

Susan Mate
MKT Communications
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503-585-7031