Law: TM in the Pen

Stopping mayhem with mantras

"The vilest deeds like poison weeds bloom well in prison air," wrote Oscar Wilde. In the California prison system, for years one of the most violent in the U.S., something quite different has taken root: Transcendental Meditation. At Folsom Prison, a state-run storehouse for repeat offenders, more than 250 inmates over the past three years have stopped hating and hitting each other to sit quietly and think their mantras. Encouraged by Folsom's example, authorities at San Quentin ("the Q") and Deuel Vocational Institution have opened their doors to TM...