Waterbury, VT. — Southern State Correctional Facility’s (SSCF) debate team, comprised of six men incarcerated at the facility, defeated Wake Forest University last Thursday in a competition facilitated by the National Prison Debate League (NPDL).
“Last week’s debate shows the transformative power of education,” said Nicholas Deml, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Corrections. “NPDL connects incarcerated individuals with collegiate debate programs, sharpening critical thinking and spurring creativity. These partnerships reduce recidivism and, ultimately, reshape lives.”
The debate focused on the Norwegian Model of Corrections, which emphasizes rehabilitation and personal agency. To prepare, both teams consulted with experts on correctional policy, rehabilitation, and criminal justice reform.
A panel of three independent judges selected the debate’s winner, scoring both teams’ analysis, reasoning, evidence, organization, refutation, and delivery.
“The NPDL is excited to launch our free educational programming in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Corrections as part of our vision to decarcerate minds,” said Daniel Throop, Executive Director of NPDL. “Southern State Correctional Facility clearly demonstrated there are no inferior minds, only unequal opportunities. We look forward to opening new programmatic doors for incarcerated people in Vermont.”
The debate course at Southern State launched last fall. Over the four-month semester, participants in the intensive curriculum focused on civic engagement, empowerment, conflict resolution, research skills, and peer leadership. All six members of the Southern State debate team will end the semester with three college credits from the course.
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