Martez Gibson calls himself blessed.
The 47-year-old spends his days driving a truck for the South Carolina Department of Transportation, picking up roadkill and litter-filled trash bags. The job pays $15 an hour and comes with state benefits and a 401(k).
It's a modest living, but it would have sounded like a fantasy to Gibson five years ago, when he was starting his fourth prison term in Minnesota, this time for possessing a firearm. As the former Chicago gang member knows well, checking the felony box on a job application is a non-starter for many employers.
Gibson attributes his success to an intensive early-release program he entered during that final prison stint in Willow River, Minn., officially called the Challenge Incarceration Program, and colloquially known as CIP.
"I think I'm lucky," he said. "I'm thankful to CIP. I'm glad that I went there, because nothing else ever worked for me."
Minnesota corrections officials tout CIP for its success in rehabilitating inmates and integrating them back into society, citing lower rates of recidivism for its graduates. It also serves as a back door for prisoners, moving them through the system faster.
The only problem, they say, is lack of space. As of mid-May, 166 eligible inmates were stuck on the waiting list.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) is asking the Legislature for $3.5 million to expand the program this year, which Deputy Commissioner Terry Carlson says is critical for addressing prison overcrowding and reducing reconvictions among former inmates.
