To the Editor:

I write to you today as someone who has experienced firsthand the life-changing impact of access to education and rehabilitation programs within New York State’s prison system. I am also writing as someone who has rebuilt a life grounded in service, hope, and determination—a life that would not have been possible without the college-in-prison program I participated in.

The narrative surrounding New York State prisons often tells a one-sided story. It focuses on crime, punishment, and recidivism rates, while rarely acknowledging the growth, transformation, and rehabilitation taking place behind those walls. The truth is that people can and do change, with the right opportunities.

Inside facilities like Riverview Correctional Facility (RCF) in Ogdensburg, there are individuals working every day to become better versions of themselves.

I urge you to keep RCF open. The college program there gives incarcerated individuals something that is too often stripped away: hope. Education inside prison walls not only provides knowledge, it restores dignity, builds purpose, and paves the way for reintegration into society. In return, college degrees make our communities safer by cutting graduates’ recidivism rate down dramatically.

RCF is more than a prison: it’s a place where lives are transformed. The college
program is a model for what real rehabilitation looks like. Yet the public rarely hears these stories of redemption.

I know this because I lived it. Through college in prison, I got a chance to believe in a future I thought I had lost. On top of good grades, I earned certification as a Peer Recovery Advocate, and I dedicated my life to helping others overcome addiction, trauma, and the many barriers that come with reentry. Since coming home, I have joined the board of an organization called Second Chance Scholars and been accepted into a SUNY Master of Social Work program. I plan to continue serving those impacted
by addiction, incarceration, and mental health challenges—helping others achieve the second chances that were given to me.

In a world quick to judge us by our worst mistakes, I hope you will stand for the truth-that we are all more than our pasts.I ask you to see the people inside RCF for who they are: human beings, capable of change, deserving of dignity, and worthy of continued opportunity.

William P. Stradtman
Potsdam