It cost a lot of money to keep a prisoner cared for with food, medical care, and housing. Instead of using tax money for a prisoner, if that funding were to go to an after-school program it would be more beneficial. More school programs lead to children having an activity to do after school instead of getting into some kind of mischief and thus getting a criminal record which then produces a vicious cycle of criminal behavior. That crime cycle will continue and add to the already overpopulated prison system. The goal here is to prevent a possible juvenile delinquent from turning into a convicted criminal before he even begins. So, using tax money that would have been used on a low-level inmate who was arrested for marijuana, let's say, would be used to help prevent future inmates. Not just school programs, but also things that would help improve communities like parks, job creation, etc. All of these things could also help prevent future prisoners because parks are used for activities where children can gather and socialize instead of engaging in criminal crimes and job creation is used to prevent poverty, which, in retrospect , is one of the main reasons why people end up in criminal activities. So all in all, as you can see, there would be many benefits to using tax money from a low level inmate for the future of our