Media coverage on Vipassana in corrections
The following features from respected U.S. media outlets explore the impact of Vipassana meditation programs in prisons — from reduced violence to personal transformation.
Finding enlightenment while locked up: Prison inmates learn to meditate
WBRC Fox 6 News · Beth Shelburne · Oct. 23, 2015
A WBRC report from Donaldson Correctional Facility follows a 10-day Vipassana course for inmates, featuring ADOC psychologist Dr. David Tytell and volunteers who describe visible behavioral changes, accountability, and the challenges of the prison-adapted retreat.
"You can walk down the halls and pick out the inmates who have sat through the course," Dr. David Tytell said.
At End-Of-The Line Prison, An Unlikely Escape
NPR Morning Edition · Debbie Elliott · Feb. 8, 2011
An NPR Morning Edition feature from Donaldson Correctional Facility follows inmates, staff, and teachers during Vipassana courses, documenting how the prison's harsh environment contrasts with the intensive silence of the meditation hall and why prison officials brought the program back.
"I could see a significant decrease in behavioral problems, acting out," Warden Gary Hetzel says. "The inmates that participated ... seemed to be much calmer, much at peace."
Meditation Class Helps Lower Violence At AL Prison
CBS News (AP) · Feb. 2, 2011
An Associated Press report for CBS News examines the Vipassana program at Donaldson Correctional Facility, highlighting prison officials' observations of calmer behavior, self-control gains, and reduced disciplinary incidents after the 10-day courses.
"It works. We see a difference in the men and in the prison. It's calmer," Warden Gary Hetzel said of the course.
Staring at Death, and Finding Their Bliss
The New York Times · Whitney Joiner · Sept. 13, 2007
A New York Times feature on “The Dhamma Brothers” traces the Donaldson Correctional Facility Vipassana program, the first intensive retreat of its kind in a U.S. maximum-security prison, and the efforts to restore the program after it was shut down.
“No one thought these guys could tolerate a 10-day meditation course,” Ms. Phillips said in a phone interview. But the prisoners did more than tolerate it.