I wonder if inmates have access to computers, would they become good programmers?
That's missing the point though. The point is access and opportunity. Even if only 5% become programmers, it's a net win overall (and that's not even counting the people who might play Candy Crush but still use the computer to better themselves in other ways - learning, filing taxes, etc.).
Unless you count Madame Bovary.
As to your response... Should inmates be deprived of all distractions, especially trivial ones? How often do you BuzzFeed or candy crush or Facebook?
I'm definitely an outlier here, sample size one. :-)
> “Why program by hand in five days what you can spend five years of your life automating?”