Oregon State Penitentiary demonstrates debating skills to inmates. They make arguments, express others' points of view, and resolve disputes peacefully.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Perhaps today, in an era of political polarization, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in civil dialogue. But the art of debate thrives in one unlikely place: prisons. Oregon Public Broadcasting's Tiffany Kamhi recently attended a debate tournament at a maximum security prison.
TIFFANY KAMHI, BYLINE: The debate club at the Oregon State Penitentiary is called Capital Toastmasters. Every year the prison hosts a student debate tournament.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Fifteen minutes of preparation now begin.
KAMHI: Four teams met in the championship round: two teams from prisoners and two from a local university. Their theme? Delete social networks with one click of a button. Lewis and Clark College graduate Isabella Moore is beginning to speak out against the idea.
ISABELLA MOORE: What tool do repressive regimes use again and again when something happens that they don't like? They turned off the Internet.
KAMHI: Then it's the other side's turn.
ANDY CHAPELL: Basically our command line is, hell yeah, press the button.
KAMHI: This is inmate Andy Chappell, president of Capital Toastmasters.
CHAPPELL: We disagree to some extent that social media is the great medium that they say it is.
KAMHI: Chappell says debate taught him how to logically organize and present concepts and to really listen to other people. This is not something he could have done before an appellate judge some 15 years ago.
CHAPPELL: The judge asked me if you had anything to say about the sentence I just handed down? She gave me 30 years for property crimes and I was very angry. I was a pretty angry guy. And I told her, yeah, why don't you get off the bench and fight like a man.
KAMHI: But five years later, Chappell successfully won a commutation of his sentence.
CHAPPELL: I told her what I was doing in this club and in my personal life, in my education and in my work. And thanks to the communication skills that I learned in this club, she eventually commuted my sentence by 10 years.
KAMHI: Research shows that debate classes help people develop critical thinking and communication skills. Theron Hall is another inmate at Capital Toastmasters.
THERON HALL: There are a lot of people who are sincerely trying to change and fix everything that got them here. And Toastmasters is one of those things that helps you communicate, be a leader, and become a better person.
KAMHI: Hall says the debate forced him to consider all sides' viewpoints. And he had to defend ideas that he didn't really believe in.
HALL: I think it takes skill to say, you know what, and that's justifiable? I don't entirely agree with this position, but let me try to understand.
KAMHI: The concept of discussion clubs in correctional facilities is not new. The Oregon State Penitentiary has had it for over 50 years. Daniel Troup is the founder of the National Prison Debate League. The non-profit organization supports eight prison debate groups across the United States.
DANIEL THROUP: We teach people how to be able to be better self-advocates long after our cohorts are done, both in and out of prison.
(APPLAUSE)
KAMHI: Back at the tournament, the closing arguments have been made and the teams await the results.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Our team of champions is the government of discovery.
(Applause)
KAMHI: Chappell's team wins. And he is delighted when he receives the trophy.
CHAPELL: It feels fantastic. I've been looking for this for years. I'm going to take him back to my cell. I'll probably go to the hole because I can't, but it's my trophy (laughter).
KAMHI: And Chappell says it's not about winning. It's about prisoners like him taking steps to change their lives.
For NPR News, I'm Tiffany Kamhi in Salem, Oregon.
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