Inside and Outside Prisons: The Sentence Continues.
There lies a general ignorance of the public in individuals who have been incarcerated. What extends is a belief that people need to live with the consequences of their actions for the entirety of there lives. If you follow any local news channel’s Facebook page and look through the comments whenever there is a story about a crime or when someone is being released from prison, the amount of deep vitriol is astounding. Even more astounding is how people do not shy away from their mean comments when identified through their profiles.
I have volunteered in a support group for men recently released from prison and it has been very hard to find the words to give them hope when the general public continues to believe that one mistake or offense means that a person is permanently bound to re-offend in a cycle. In reality, the public creates a self-fulfilling prophecy by not being willing to provide support and resources for people eager to find their place in society once again.
However, community resources exist if you know where to go, who to talk to, and who has been where you are now. Unfortunately, this is often a difficult journey. Made more difficult when businesses do not want to take a chance on individuals with a past even when individuals are upfront about their past. In a labor force that needs workers, many people with a record are turned away.
Minnesota was successful in cutting their prison population in half with a corrections budget that is half the size of Wisconsin’s. Wisconsin attempted this with a campaign called 11×15 which failed miserably, in my opinion due to a heavy reliance on faith-based communities rather than more local and state community involvement. Awareness campaigns typically only garner attention from people already aware of the issues and already embroiled in the fight.
Below is a link for an NPR chat with a sociology professor and an individual who wrote a book about his experiences after prison and how much discrimination still exists for individuals with a criminal record regardless of the severity of crimes, the years served, or the years being successful back in society.
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03/08/issues-facing-former-inmates
