The convicted felons deserve a second chance in the society as they have already paid for their crimes in the prisons. The sources of this paper focus not only on the proportionality and fairness of punishment, but include the means by which the ex-convicts can be helped to avoid the stigma of their criminal records and blend well in the society.
Millions of people in the United States have been imprisoned for conviction crimes and the rates of incarceration have been increasing. Every year, thousands of people all over the United States confront their personal and social challenges that are related to transition from the prisons t the outside society. The rates of prison incarceration in the United States have been on the upward trend more than any country on the globe. It is with no doubt that some of the people sent to prisons did not commit the crimes they were charged with. When these individuals are released back to the society, they carry with them a criminal record that will part of them throughout their lives.
The individuals who get imprisoned are imprisoned so as to pay for their crimes, however, they will have to go through additional punishment other than their sentences which include their low life status and the lack of job and education opportunities. They will go through stigmatization in the society because the society has a tendency to think that ex-convicts are bad or deviant people who do not have an ability to become better individuals and contribute positively to the society. The ex-convicts made mistakes but they need a second chance so that they can survive and become productive members of the society.
Incarceration in the United States has now been in place for a while and it has been a trend for the society and the political structure to reject the ex convicts who are released back to the society. The biggest worry for the ex-convicts in not actually about their life of incarceration under the control of the state and the federal authorities but how the society will take them back. They also fear their failure in the society after they have been released due their basic minimum education that they receive while incarcerated. They are not given an opportunity of employment or work training which would help them in to adapt the work environment when they have been released from incarceration.
The ex-convicts when released to the society get a lot of stigma from people for being ex-convicts. This stigmatization causes a lot of problems for to them and makes it difficult for the ex-convicts to find employment. The political structure has things designed which make the ex-convicts fail once they have been released. Statistics have indicated that about 1,000 or more ex-convicts are released from the prison on a daily basis which is four times higher the number of people who were released from the prisons 25 years ago. The statistics also show that 64% of the people released from the prisons end up committing crimes and as a result they are taken back to incarceration for their inability to fit into the society.
Some companies have non hiring policies that are against hiring people who have criminal records and those who do not have qualified professional or education skills and most ex-convicts fall under this bracket which makes them very disadvantaged. Even with these marks against the ex-convicts, the society should do what most companies and organizations cannot do by accepting them in the society because the work industry does not believe in the second chance for the ex-convicts to do the right thing in the work force. Such an example is a case where a 60 year old man from San Francisco was denied a job opportunity which he was fully qualified after disclosing his theft conviction 40 years in the past. Even though he had paid for the crime and had now become a respected family man who did not have any problems with the law, the job opportunity was denied from him due to a mistake made a very long time in the past. The man was just a single mistreatment of the many mistreatments that take place daily in our country even in other fields apart from the work environment.
The people have no understanding in the significance of giving ex-convicts a second chance do not have an understanding of what they lose. These ex-convicts really want and are highly motivated to prove themselves that they can fit in the society and if given the opportunity to work, they can do so just like any other person. The society should then take this advantage by giving them a chance to prove themselves instead of leaving them to stay idle which results to them committing other crimes. A large percentage of people use stigma in their judgment of not giving the ex-convicts a second chance. When an ex-convict has been released back to the society of robbery, violent assault and murder and such crimes, most people do want to accept them back to the society because of their criminal records. It would pay off for the society and the employers’ acceptance of these people as they would not be tempted to commit more crimes.
Besides the stigma on employment, ex-convicts are also faced by other problems such as the ban in most states on the ex-convicts from using their work skills for those who have them to make a living in outside the prison. In some instances, the applicants have to list their criminal records which help in banning the ex-convicts from being hired for job positions. The few ex-convicts who have had a chance to go back in the work place have been found to hard working and honest which stood above their criminal records. The few ex-convicts have been able to help reduce the obstacle that exists and has also shown the employers that ex-convicts can be given a chance to re-enter the field of employment. The government should encourage the nonprofit organization to provide programs that are designed to give ex-convicts employment training and also in helping them seek employments which would be very helpful in reducing recidivision by encouraging employment for the ex-convicts. We all need to support the ex-convict because on their own they cannot make it.
If the ex-convicts have the will to change, they should be given a second chance and as such they should not be denied a chance to be accepted back to the society. They should be given a space to be able to provide for their families and contribute to the nation building. The environment offered to them should not tempt them to go back to their old ways where they committed crimes.
A single mistake especially to the non violent first time offenders is not enough to warrant a lifetime punishment even when these individual have paid for the crimes in the prison sentences. In most case, the ex-convicts are very remorseful and do not have any intention to repeat their mistakes. The times they spend away from their loved ones and families help them put things into perspective and when they come back, they have really learnt a lot. Criminals should be punished but once they have paid the required debt to the society, they should be given a second chance to have a normal life in the society.
Work Cited
Angela J. Hattery, Earl Smith. "The Long Road to Reintegration." Prisoner Reentry and Social Capital (2010): 11-15.
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Stephen C. Richards. "Rejoining Society After Prison." Beyond Bars (2010): 30-32.
Jeremy Travis, Michelle Waul. "The Impact of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities." Prisoners Once Removed (2010): 22-30.
Petersilia, Joan. "Parole and Prisoner Reentry." When Prisoners Come Home (2009): 8-12.
Wellington, Lewis. "Alternatives to Incarceration and Reentry." Second Chance in the Criminal Justice System (2007): 88.
