[MisterBastahrd]

Most of them go back into society with the albatross of having been in jail around their necks, not to mention the gap in work history. Going so far as to give lifers an education (along with the rest of the population) reduces crime. The prison population are still citizens who deserve to be treated well. They don't deserve to be the victims of crime any more than anyone else. The vast majority of people in jail are people with poor educations, poor upbringings, and/or mental disorders. Giving them a hand up is vastly more preferable than leaving them to their own devices and then tossing them back onto the streets.