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Rock on Jo! What an amazing woman. I hope I will have children one day and that they will admire her as much as I do. She is the perfect role model for me.

ooooooooooh, now she is talking to a couple of criminals…

whom she should not be talking to.

j.k. rowling has one more time stood up and shown us how a real person of good character should wield their personal power and influence.its time for all her fans to do the same ,imagine the change for the better if we all did the same

I know that prison is about reforming rather than punishment but I feel uneasy about all this. Why is there a charity for prisons when it is a government responsibility to fund it from our own taxes? What I feel most uneasy about is the fact that some criminals have no consience and regret about what they have done. Yet we help them. I have been mugged and beaten by a gang on a bus. I would find it very very very difficult to try and help them. Much less the murderers. I dont want to hate them but I cant help it. I just cant. I hate to see Jo helping them although deep down I know its the righteous thing to do (very Christian) to help reform criminals. I cant help felling that they do not deserve it. True, some of them may be the innocent Sirius Blacks or Hagrids. Some may have comit their crime out of desperation or as a way out. But society comes first and they need protection and (this is where my moral may be most questionable) a fear of knowing that prison is HELL and it is there as PUNISHMENT. Oh dear, maybe I should follow the Harry Potter and Yoda school of teaching to releasing my resentment and hate towards those who commit horrendous crimes.

I don’t think society should come first, I think people should come first… every person deserves a second chance to make something good of their life. If people come out of prison more bitter and resentful than they were before, chances are they’ll go the wrong way again. So it’s in everyones interest to try to help them do better. It might be difficult to earn a living if you can’t read and write. I’m just grateful that I can, and that I have so many opportunities to make something of myself, and also to have fun reading Harry Potter! Maybe if you look at it like that you’ll be a little less resentful?

What can I say? there’s no enough words for Jo.

i agree with matea

Professor Potter, I’m sorry for your experience. I am often conflicted about our penal system.

As far as this news item, though, I look at it this way: learning to read can only be a good thing.

Hugs.

The woman never ceases to amaze me with her generousity, humility and humanity.

Thank you Jo for being such as marvelous example of the positive influence that people can be. May we all strive to be a benevolent!

She is incredible because even with all the vile things that people are doing and saying (SVA & his toadys) against her … She goes merrily on and conducting herself in a most honourable and admirable way.

Jo is an honourable Lady to be sure!

BTW – Has the Queen granted her “Lady” or “Dame” as an official status title yet? I think she has earned that honour for sure! :-)

The woman never ceases to amaze me with her generousity, humility and humanity.

Thank you Jo for being such as marvelous example of the positive influence that people can be. May we all strive to be a benevolent!

She is incredible because even with all the vile things that people are doing and saying (SVA & his toadys) against her … She goes merrily on and conducting herself in a most honourable and admirable way.

Jo is an honourable Lady to be sure!

BTW – Has the Queen granted her “Lady” or “Dame” as an official status title yet? I think she has earned that honour for sure! :-)

OOPS! Sorry for the double post! Not sure how that happened

I agree with Luna Longbottom. Hey as Sirius said in the movie there is light and dark in all of us. Everyone deserves the chance to right their wrongs

Prison is a horrible place and the idea that it is there to for the sake of reformation and redemption is laughable, this is a worthy charity but it isn’t the most worthy in my opinion. However, what Jo does with her resources have nothing to do with my opinion. If only Jo wasn’t such an oddity in this respect. Granted many celebrities give thousands of pounds to charity, but how often is it for the sake of giving to charity and how often is it for the sake of increasing there own popularity? I’ve heard of Jo’s house being featured on Cribs and its modesty stood out in a way that would put the other featured celebrities to shame.

Ok. Three comments, here: First, to ‘Nezziekiki: Why, on earth, shouldn’t she talk to inmates….they are, after all, in a “secure environment” [I hope] Second to ‘Tim’....while it does seem “reformation and redemption is laughable”, sitll it is worth a try. On BOTH sides of “the pond”. While I do agree, that, it doesn’t always work. Then, on to something I may have misunderstood you to say: ”...how often is it for the sake of incresing their own popularity?’ I would hope, given this lady’s unswerving charitable works…FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHARITY, that you were not referring to Ms Rowling….If I am in error, please forgive me. But there have been a number of “Jo is only trying to [get more money, get more attention, etc”] comments here. This lady deserves great respect and admiration for this lady…!

Up to a third of Britain’s prison population cannot read or write, many more have reading difficulties. It is one of the reasons for high levels of reoffending hence JKR’s interest in it. If you can read and write the chances increase of your staying out of trouble. see http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/jun/21/prisonsandprobation.society

To Professor Potter! :)

Just keep in mind that most of these people are not going to stay there forever…. By making prison hell you are only feeding the bad! By trying to help them, anyone who does so, is helping to protect us.

I think it was an admirable thing for Jo to do. As for how the prisoners are treated, thankfully we have moved past the days of throwing someone in a cell and forgetting they are there. The point is that they pay for their crime (no, it doesn’t make it any easier for the victim), and that one day, when they are released, they will be able to be a responsible, productive member of society.

Without being able to read, that chance of doing something positive once they are out of prison is severely lessened. One third of the prisoners not being able to read sounds like an extremely high illiteracy rate, so trying to do something about it is essential to turning their lives around. The other part of that program is that it is peer to peer, which also has a positive benefit for the one who is teaching someone to read. It’s a win win situation; one prisoner learns to read, while the other learns to help someone else.

Pat

True prision is for punishment, and some in jail have no conscience of their crimes. Yet prision can in ways be a vicious circle. By the treatment they recieve in jail and outside, can lead them to re-offend.

Carol, Mountain Violet, Luna, your comments are invaluable and I commend the optimistic views. I will try to be more optimistic about reform as opposed to punishment, though it is still difficult to shake off the hate I have for some of these criminals who have ruined the lives of families and scarred individuals. Oh there I go again..stop me!

Harry Potter represents forgiveness and opportunity for redemption. It is up to the criminals to make that choice just as Harry had given Voldermont. I think what Jo is doing here reflects that and kudos to her for that. She is wonderful as always. She chooses which charities she wants to support and that is her absolute right. I just wish it didnt include this one but thats me being selfish ;)

Professor Potter, no one knows what you feel, and I certainly wouldn’t be arrogant enough to try to “change your mind”, if such a thing is even possible.

In my job I (not often, but regularly) deal with inmates, and I have to say that the majority of them seem to me to be weasels. (No offense to weasels; perhaps I should say creeps, or losers.)

However, if even one illiterate inmate learned how to read, read books in prison that touched his or her heart, and made the determination to turn his or her life around, well…I think it would be worth it.