Not closing Guantanamo (sounded good on the campaign trail) but would have been a big mistake proven by the high rate of recidivism of released detainees.

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The rate of recidivism is not known.

ECONOMIST: A survey of al-Qaeda

This 8.8% rate is also far smaller than the recidivism rate of criminals in the United States, which currently stands around 67.5%, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

CNN: Terror threat from Gitmo prisoners is exaggerated

Let's understand for a second that -- I don't know what Senator Graham or Senator Bond said in 2005 when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an analogy that if you compared the recidivism rate of detainees at Guantanamo with the U.S. penal system, the detainee rate is less for -- the recidivism rate is less for Guantanamo detainees.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

California has had a high recidivism rate (of 70%) in part because every released inmate used to be placed on parole and many were returned to prison for small violations such as missing appointments or failing alcohol tests.

ECONOMIST: California's prisons

The difficulty finding a job is one of the major factors contributing to the high recidivism rate.

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The Prison Fellowship programme in Texas has a recidivism rate under 5%, compared with a national average of around 50%.

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