Returning from Prison
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-03-02/returning-prison
Thousands of men and women are released from prison and return home to the Washington area each year. And many find that the "ex-offender" label follows them for years as they seek housing and apply for jobs. We'll talk about life after prison and what can be done to stop the revolving door back to jail.
Guests
Charles Thornton
Director, D.C. Office on Ex-Offender Affairs
Nancy La Vigne
Director, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Delegate, U.S. House of Representatives (D-DC)
Comments
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A short documentary "Released To Life" is going to be screened at the DC Independent Film Festival on this very subject. The time and location for this screening are: Friday, March 11, 7pm, Gala Theatre (3333 14th Street NW, Washington D.C., DC 20010) Metro: Columbia Heights.
My husband volunteers for a charity that helps people in transition obtain identification - mostly birth certificates. Almost all the people he helps are recently released from prison. No one can get a job without a valid ID, and a released prisoner does not have a valid drivers license. It is hard to obtain an ID, especially an out of state birth certificate, unless you are very resourceful. Why don't they help get prisoners their birth certificate or other ID before being released, because we know they can't get a job without it.
This issue is very timely for me as I have a friend returning THIS MONTH after 3 years in low security Federal Prison. I would like to know how I can be of support to him and also what issues or challenges that I should look out for in order to help him best.
** Please do not mention my name ***
My son has a felony conviction after coming to the help of his friend. He has served a year in prison. It is extremely difficult for men to get re-assimilated into our current world. He cannot even serve in the military. My husband & I both have our own businesses, and have many connections in society and could give him good references and contacts. However, the prevalence of computer assisted background searches and the accompanying discrimination means that most jobs are not open to felons. Now we have helped him to leave the country in order to start his life elsewhere.
Also, even worse, is the current registry of sex offenders. Many of these crimes are not heinous, for example, complaints between divorcing spouses, young people engaging in sex etc. Yet these these men have their pictures posted on the internet indefinitely. Currently there is only one man smiling in the photos of Alexandria sex offenders - he was 24 years old in 1984 when he had sex with a 17 year old woman. Why do we need to know this?
Also, they do not provide tax forms in jail. So these guys cannot keep up with their requirements to file taxes.
And in Virginia, they did not allow us to donate books to the system, even though they are in short supply.
um, we need to know this because a 24 year old man had sex with a 17 year old girl. There is a REASON this is illegal. A 24 year old man should not be hanging out with a 17 year old girl! If charges were pressed and this man was convicted, it was obviously a bad situation.
You do not go to jail in this country for no reason: you must BREAK THE LAW. The consequences for doing so are severe, but they are there for the protection of other citizens. There is a way to avoid these consequences: DON'T BREAK THE LAW!
While there ARE horrific cases of men and women being interned falsely (just listened to a heartbreaking story on This American Life last weekend about a man who was in prison 25 yrs for a murder he did not commit), this is the exception and not the rule. Additionally, if a prisoner is exonerated, their records are amended.
I am glad there is a sex offender registry and as a woman, and hopefully someday a parent, I will use it to protect my family (yes, even my 17 year old daughter should I have one).
Elizabeth Dodd, your response makes me think a couple things about you: 1) you're a young adult and 2) you're white. In America, the story of Black America I can recommend some history books--tells the story of black men picked up off the street and incarcerated for no reason. It tells the story of black men serving decades in jail because white people lied to law enforcement. and on and on. Re: sex offenders: I agree that no 24 y o should be hanging with a 17 y older. Yet, after 25 years later, why should the perpetrator still be paying a debt to society?