Editorial: Hope if inmates get right support

So two of Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie's abusers are not getting many visitors. The immediate reaction to this news from most people might be "who cares?"
Nia, 3, died of a serious brain injury in 2007 after months of physical abuse at the hands of her extended family in whose care her mother, Lisa Kuka, left her while she was at work. Kuka was jailed for nine years for manslaughter for failing to get medical help for Nia and failing to protect her from violence.
Kuka's then-boyfriend, Wiremu Curtis, and his brother, Michael Curtis, were jailed for life with a non-parole period of 17 years on charges of murder while two others were jailed for three years for abusing the child.
Kuka and Wiremu Curtis are two of five New Zealand prisoners who between them have had just just seven visits in the past year.
The Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society, which has done great work for many years, supporting prisoners and their families, has raised a good point in relation to visits. It says those who have support from family on the outside while they serve their time tend to do better once released.
That makes sense. However, one could argue that not all support is good support.
Let's be real. In some cases, prisoners come from families who have lived on the wrong side of the law for more than one generation and/or families who have not raised them well and probably have little to offer them for a meaningful, lawful future on the outside. What sort of positive support could they offer unless they themselves have changed their ways?
To successfully rehabilitate when released, surely prisoners need the right support from the right people while they serve their time and beyond. It's easy for society to say "stuff them, they deserve to be in jail for life". That may be so but the reality is they will not.
When they are released we surely want them to be better people. Not because we should feel sorry for them but because if they come out better people, they will no longer be a burden on society.
It would be good to see research done into prison visits and how that "support" affects the way prisoners choose to live their lives once released.