About 68 percent of the people that are released from prison end up rearrested within three years. Why would someone who has lived through prison risk going back? What changes can be made in society to solve this problem?
After they have completed and paid for their sentence, they are still treated as criminals once they come out. There are restrictions placed on them by state and the federal government that make it harder for them to find jobs, housing and other opportunities. These restrictions are placed there to protect the public, but they just make it much harder for the released inmates to get their life back together.
There are very few career options available for them as very few places will hire someone with a criminal record. Most of them also find themselves homeless as they are not allowed to live in public housing or landlords refuse to rent to them, or they may just not have the means necessary to pay for the housing.
This needs change.
The justice system should be about punishment and rehabilitation. In prison, they should be provided with the means to learn traits that can help them find jobs. This would help to lower the recidivism rate in the country.
Most inmates do not want to go back to prison once they have left it but sometimes they are left with no other option but to go back. This would be helpful for the government as well as if there are fewer inmates going back to prison then the cost of the prison may decrease.
It has been working at the Cook County Jail. From the experiences of one inmate there, the jail helped change her life completely. She was provided with the tools she needed to stay out of prison. Cook County is considered to be one of the top 10 model programs for prisoners. They have seen a drop in felony convictions in the last three years.
If inmates are provided with the right resources, counseling, and preparation for once they leave prison, then they will have a better chance of making it in the real world. We don't know what goes on in everyone's life that led to that moment, but I believe that everyone deserves a second chance.
