Thank you very much for your appearance here.
I want to start with Ms. Clitheroe. When I was in high school and in my young adult years, I was a volunteer with my family--my mom, dad, and sisters--at Stony Mountain Penitentiary. A couple of things struck me. First was the impact my dad had on the men who were in prison. So many of them did not have strong male figures in their lives. My dad passed away 14 years ago, and he was a great man.
I think you spoke to the impact of mental health issues. There are the issues we heard from the other witnesses surrounding their family backgrounds, probably lack of parenting, and all of those things that surround inmates. There are certainly reasons why they're in prison. There are reasons why they're addicted to drugs.
I just wanted to say that, because I respect so much the work you do. People would say to me, “What, you're going into prison to volunteer?” But it was something that impacted my life. I was probably treated with more respect by those inmates than I've ever been treated by men. I think that's saying a lot.
We heard from the previous witnesses that they believe in a rights-based approach. I tend to think we should approach life generally, not just with rights but with responsibilities. I wonder if you can speak to the whole issue of individual accountability and how that can benefit inmates, not just if they're dealing in drugs in the prison and the legal ramifications, but even right to their treatment and individual responsibility: “I'm responsible for what I do, and the positive side is that means I can make changes to my life. Even though a lot of bad things might have happened to me as an individual, I can make choices to get out of those situations and make myself a better person.”
Can you speak to your experience? I'll start with you, Ms. Clitheroe, and then go to the other witnesses. Give me your experience and how accountability for these inmates actually helps them, as opposed to blaming others for.... The blame may be rightly placed, but can you speak to the accountability factor for inmates?