Newspapereditorial:
In anattempt to reduce the crime rate, the governor is getting tough on criminalsand making prison conditions harsher. Part of this effort has been to deny inmates the access they formerlyhad to college-level courses. However,this action is clearly counter to the governor’s ultimate goal, since afterbeing released form prison, inmates who had taken such courses committed farfewer crimes overall than other inmates.
Which ofthe following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Not being able to take college-level courseswhile in prison is unlikely to deter anyone from a crime that he or she mightotherwise have committed.
B. Former inmates are no more likely to commitcrimes than are members of the general population.
C. The group of inmates who chose totake college-level courses were not already less likely than other inmates tocommit crimes after being released.
D. Taking high school level courses in prisonhas less effect on an inmate’s subsequent behavior than taking college-levelcourses does.
E. Thegovernor’s ultimate goal actually is to gain popularity by convincing peoplethat something effective is being done about crime.
