– credit, Matthew Ansley, Unsplash

Beyond the lyrics of a certain John Denver song, West Virginia tends to get a bad rap for being impoverished and backward, but this small mountainous state has a secret to success concealed beneath its wooded cloak.

A recent report by Suzuki Law found that West Virginia’s recidivism rate ranks among the lowest in the nation, meaning fewer criminals continue to perform criminal acts after leaving prison than almost anywhere else.

“The impact of recidivism on society is profound, with both economic costs and social implications that affect taxpayers, communities, and public safety,” the report’s introduction reads.

“According to recent studies, 600,000 prisoners are released annually, and 71% return to prison within five years.”

With a rate more than 40% lower than that, West Virginia enjoys the 4th lowest rate of recidivism in the nation, a position it has maintained for an entire decade.

On a separate note, the states which perform better than West Virginia are often equally criticized by coastal elites as being backwards, and include Oklahoma (22.6%) and South Carolina (21%). Virginia’s rate is also lower at 23.5%, and Florida’s is just higher than West Virginia (24.5%).

Similarly, the report found that Reentry Alabama, a post-incarceration preparatory program in the state, managed to drop the recidivism rate to 4% among the participants.

Perhaps these rates seem high—between 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 released prisoners end up re-imprisoned within 5 years. This doesn’t make for encouraging reading on the face of it, but compared to the worst states, it seems heaven sent.

Delaware suffers from a 65% recidivism rate—2 of every 3 released inmates will be back within five years. Wealthy Rhode Island and Colorado each witness a 50% recidivism rate, while 62% was recorded in Alaska by Suzuki, which specializes in criminal defense.

“Our correctional industry leaders and employees have recognized that operating a successful prison system includes preparing the incarcerated population for a productive life outside of the system,” Joe Thornton, former Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, was quoted as saying.

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“This effort involves parole and probation agencies, social service providers, work-release employers, and support from the community.”

According to West Virginia Watch, the foundations of this decade of success were laid by Democrat governor Earl Ray Tomblin, and a GOP-controlled legislature, which together made a very conscious decision to identify and employ “scientifically validated” best practices to reduce recidivism rates back in 2013.

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The Justice Reinvestment Initiative passed through Senate Bill 371, explored the best ways of tackling social challenges like “behavioral health and substance abuse” while also establishing “day report centers” that emphasized treatment and recovery rather than penalization and incarceration.

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