A new report shows that nearly half of the inmates released from the Texas State prison system end up returning to prison..

"The Texas prison system incarcerates 140,000 people, second only to California, and is so big that prisoners are released every weekday. The question no one asks is: Who's coming back? But if someone did, the prisoners would answer: Not me. National studies show otherwise: Roughly half the men will be proved wrong within three years."

Texas does spend a lot of money on rehabilitation. The Bureau of Justice Statistics report that recently released convicts commit 5 percent of serious crimes.

"A system that can keep convicted criminals from re-offending would save money and better protect the public."Efforts to rehabilitate begin as soon as a criminal enters the system. The first stop for everyone is the James Byrd Diagnostic Center in Huntsville.

There, an inmate is tested on intelligence, education, emotional and mental stability and job skills. From the test results, prison officials create an individualized rehabilitation plan.

An inmate who cannot read at a seventh-grade level is enrolled in school. Those already educated can further their studies in college or vocational classes.

Everyone who is able is put to work in cafeterias, on farms and in factories making license plates, clothing, wood furniture. There are 41 prison factories. For many, it is the first steady employment of their lives.

For drug addicts, there are six- to nine-month counseling programs, and the counseling continues after release.

For the most part, inmates adhere to their rehabilitation plans because refusing affects chances. An inmate who gets an education, completes his rehabilitation plan and stays out of trouble stands a pretty good chance of earning. An inmate who does not serves more, if not all, of his sentence.

Texas incarcerates more of its population than any other other state except for Louisiana. It keeps its inmates in jail longer. It says that finding out how to make offenders stay out of prison is the million dollar question.

We don't claim to have the answer, but we agree with Marc Mauer, deputy director of the prison reform group, The Sentencing Project, who says, "The key to reducing recidivism, said is to stop locking up so many people."

"I think a main issue is we've come to rely too heavily on prison. Half the people are there for non-violent offenses, more than four-fifths are there for drug offenses," Mauer said. "There needs to be consequences for violating the law, but we need to distinguish between offenses. Prison should be used as a last resort."

"The best way to ease the transition back into society is to eliminate it altogether, Mauer said. The criminal justice system would be more effective if it allowed non-violent criminals to maintain their connections to the community and their families. Let them keep their jobs and help them overcome the addictions that inspired their crimes, Mauer said. "

"Ultimately, 95 percent of the people are coming back to the community anyway," he said." If roughly half the prisoners who go through the system come back, that also means half will not.