After his father Robin Williams died last year, 32-year-old Zak Williams decided to explore how he could give back to the community. Robin Williams publicly struggled with addiction and mental illness, and Zak Williams says his dad had immense empathy for people who "might not have been dealt a great hand in life."

That's one of the reasons Zak Williams teaches a weekly financial literacy class at San Quentin. Williams has an MBA from Columbia University and teaches alongside inmate Curtis Carroll, who goes by the nickname "Wall Street" because he spends 18 hours a day studying stock markets. Carroll told CNN Money that he started "picking stocks" a decade ago after reading old issues of the Wall Street Journal.

"Whether [inmates are in for] non-violent or violent crimes, a grossly disproportionate amount [of the crimes] are money related," Zak Williams explained to CNN Money. "What we want to do is reveal a whole slew of ways to think about money, and hopefully reveal to people that they can earn it in ways that they didn't previously see."

In the year since Robin Williams' suicide, Zak Williams said San Quentin has helped him significantly.

"[G]iving back, and trying to add value to people's lives is something that's been very helpful for me personally," he said, adding that he often thinks about his father when he enters San Quentin. "He was very compassionate towards those who might not have been dealt a great hand in life. His capacity for compassion and love was limitless ... it was something that brought him great joy, providing happiness and laughter for untold millions and millions of people."

A humane and educational prison experience can reduce recidivism

Earlier this year, ATTN: reported on the extraordinary success of Norway's Halden Prison, which spends roughly triple the amount on its average prisoner (about $90,000) than the U.S. system spends. Halden prisoners get private rooms with a TV, shower, fridge, and wood furniture. Though this might seem extravagant for a prison, the approach appears to be working: Norway has a 20 percent recidivism rate, which is among the lowest in the world, according to a March 2014 report from Rhode Island's Salve Regina University. It's a different story in the U.S., where more than 75 percent of released inmates are re-arrested after being released from prison. Norway's incarceration rate is 75 per 100,000 while the U.S. rate is more than ten times higher at 707 per 100,000, totaling more than 2 million people behind bars.

Meanwhile, in the United States President Obama has launched a pilot program to restore Pell Grants for prisoners, so that inmates can better pay for education and earn a college degree. This is a far cry from the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which barred inmates from using grants.

"Many people agree that educating inmates before their release is an excellent way of preparing them for reentry," wrote ATTN:'s Andrew Rose. "But it is not as simple as that: prison education is a fantastic idea, and it can help to dramatically lower the recidivism rate and to improve ex-convicts' quality of life."

Ten years ago, a Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that only 35 percent of corrections facilities provide college courses to inmates. 

A culture of equality in prison

Karin Dwyer-Loken, an American who teaches history and English at Halden Prison, said in an interview with NPR that Halden respects inmates. Halden staffers can be seen eating with inmates in dining areas and playing games with them in the gym.

"Anybody can learn anything," she said. "Anybody can change their lives with the right kind of help, guidance, giving them a chance ... Their punishment is being locked up. Their punishment is not to be treated badly while they're locked up."

For more on prisons, watch ATTN:'s videos below: