Moral Rehabilitation begins at Mount Olive

 State Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein said Thursday he’s excited about the possibilities that a new Moral Rehabilitation program will provide.

The program will give inmates at Mount Olive State Prison in Fayette County an opportunity to earn a four-year college degree from Appalachian Bible College. Nearly 30 inmates applied for and were admitted to the program that began this week.

Rubenstein believes the instruction will change attitudes inside the maximum security prison and outside when the inmates are released.

“I believe we have the opportunity to make some truly positive changes not only within our Corrections system but that our efforts can be far reaching throughout the state,” Rubenstein said in a news release.

The program is modeled after the Angola program that has transformed the behavior at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. State officials have visited that prison several times and recently took a few state lawmakers with them.

The inmates at Mount Olive are working toward a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and Theology. The program is headed up by Allen Ferry, a U.S. Army veteran and former New York Department of Corrections chaplain.