Ex-convicts should be allowed to vote

[Church_Militant]

The ONLY way to drastically reduce recidivism rates is to ensure ex-convicts are able to get good jobs and/or training.

If you release a person from prison after 10 or 20 years and then put up barriers of all kinds so they cant even find a place to live or a job, what do you think they are going to do…what other choice do they have?

A very unfortunate fact. There may be those who are too screwed up to even want to stay out, but that is the extreme exception and not the rule.

Widespread background checks are the main problem imo, I can understand BG checks for certain jobs (banks, child care, hospitals, etc), but when almost every industry requires them, thats going a bit overboard. Ive recently seen nearly all these temp/ factory type jobs now REQUIRE a BG check and will not hire anyone with a conviction…Im sorry, but a BG check to work in a warehouse or stuff boxes? LOL

One local grocery chain here requires BG check and does not hire ex-cons.

My company is the same, they require no convictions to be hired, even at the lowest cashier level (this is actually causing serious staffing problems) only about 10% of applicants qualify to be hired, thankfully my company is likely going to lower their standards, but most will not.

I can think of 2 sources that speak to this.

From the Bible: Sirach 8:5 Do not reproach a man who is turning away from sin; remember that we all deserve punishment.

From Japan’s samurai book the Hagakure:

At the time when there was a council concerning the promotion of a certain man, the council members were at the point of deciding that promotion was useless because of the fact that the man had previously been involved in a drunken brawl. But someone said, "If we were to cast aside every man who had made a mistake once, useful men could probably not be come by. A man who makes a mistake once will be considerably more prudent and useful because of his repentance. I feet that he should be promoted.’’

Someone else then asked, “Will you guarantee him?” The man replied, “Of course I will.”

The others asked, “By what will you guarantee him?”
And he replied, “I can guarantee him by the fact that he is a man who has erred once. A man who has never once erred is dangerous.” This said, the man was promoted.

 

[pnewton]

The ONLY way to drastically reduce recidivism rates is to ensure ex-convicts are able to get good jobs and/or training.

If you release a person from prison after 10 or 20 years and then put up barriers of all kinds so they cant even find a place to live or a job, what do you think they are going to do…what other choice do they have?

I think you bring up two issues that I will add to. I am all for these type of long sentences for violent offenders. I see too much of it for drug offenders. A long prison sentence is really harmful and should be reserved when absolutely needed to protect society from serious harm.

When a prisoner is released, it must be expected that job opportunities will be lower tier jobs. While that is okay, something all people go through, the former prisoner will be much more tempted to return to crime if the job is miserable and has no chance for advancement. Not all jobs need to lead to upward mobility, but the opportunity for betterment needs to exist to resist temptation to return to crime, drugs or drinking.

 

[mikekle]

I think you bring up two issues that I will add to. I am all for these type of long sentences for violent offenders. I see too much of it for drug offenders. A long prison sentence is really harmful and should be reserved when absolutely needed to protect society from serious harm.

When a prisoner is released, it must be expected that job opportunities will be lower tier jobs. While that is okay, something all people go through, the former prisoner will be much more tempted to return to crime if the job is miserable and has no chance for advancement. Not all jobs need to lead to upward mobility, but the opportunity for betterment needs to exist to resist temptation to return to crime, drugs or drinking.

I agree, some people are just violent and need to be locked up to keep other safe, sex crimes are the same, we just cant have people out there doing this kind of thing to others, but when you look at the statistics, murders, and sex criminals by themselves, there are not that many, not enough to justify the HUGE prison industry in the way it exists now anyway.

Drug related crimes on the other hand, thats what the majority are in prison for, either selling drugs or doing other crimes to get money for drugs…so drugs and addiction are the real problem, addiction has been proven to be a disease time and time again, yet we have made it a criminal offense, that is the problem right there.

As Ive said before I believe police and law enforcement in general should have NO involvement at all in the ‘war’ on drugs, its a disease that is fueling it, not criminal behavior. The CDC should really take this over, its a nationwide epidemic, heroin alone is wreaking havoc on just about every city in the country, yet we keep trying to ‘treat’ it the same ways that have failed time and again…?? This makes no sense.

These facts have really convinced me there is more to this and it probably involves the prison industry, after all, they need to keep as many cells occupied as long as possible for them to justify new prisons, there are just not enough murders and rapists to justify the number of prisons, drugs are really the ‘perfect’ offense/ crime for the prison industry and LE in general, it literally ENSURES a very large number of people will commit crimes that lead to long sentences.