For many inmates, the hardest part about prison is getting out.
Too often they go back to the same conditions that led to them ending up behind bars - poverty, joblessness, a lack of skills. The hopelessness that can lead some to crime.
Indeed, it's often said that prison is a college for crime, where the incarcerated learn to better evade the law.
Now inmates at the Barry Telford Unit in New Boston will have the opportunity to learn other skills that could serve them well upon release.
Texarkana College is planning to offer prisoners the chance to earn a associate in applied science degree in three fields - construction technology, electrical technology and welding.
All three trades are in demand in the free world. And training in any one could help keep an inmate on the straight and narrow once on the outside of the walls.
Classes are expected to start in January. We hope these classes will help Telford inmates pursue a new career - indeed a new way of life - and wish all involved the best.