I began questioning the criminal justice system when my loving boyfriend went to court for distribution of alcohol to a minor. The last day of court, we sat in the courtroom waiting for about five hours. The lady pressing charges never showed, and we left the room with court fines and he was sentenced to probation. As we were walking to meet the officer, we found out he had a warrant out for his arrest in a neighboring county for failure to comply with child support orders. So, they arrested him.
My first reaction was shock. Then I cried. Then I began trying to find out answers, such as when he would be out, when I could visit, if there was a bail that could be paid, etc. It was incredibly frustrating.
First place to look: the phone book. Turns out, you have to call the sheriff's office to communicate with anyone in charge at the jail. Once I figured out the right number (which took quite a few phone calls to figure out which was the right number), I had to call multiple times for information. I just kept thinking of questions. Sometimes, the person on the other end was patient and understanding in giving me the information I needed. Other times, they were rude and seemed like they could care less if I knew anything.
The second thought that occurred to me was that this might be a violation of parole. The rules are that, while on parole, you can't be arrested and you can't leave the county without prior permission from your parole officer. So, I found the number for the officer and called him, leaving a voice message that probably sounded frantic and emotional. He called back the next day and assured me that, since the warrant had been issued before parole had been sentenced, it would not affect the parole. Whew. That was a relief.
Then, I found out when the court hearing was for the child support case: it wasn't until two months after he had been arrested! Everyone had assured me that my boyfriend would only be in jail for about a month. I was so disappointed. The first visit I made was emotional and I cried after I left the jail. The next visit, I brought letters to give to him and they refused to take them. Angry, I asked if I could mail them. They gave me the address, and I immediately bought stamps. I supplied socks and underwear, because someone has to (by the way, they have to be in an unopened package and solid white).
Long story short, he was able to go to court earlier than planned and able to get out of jail earlier than planned. What I discovered, though, was that court systems are frustrating, getting information is close to impossible if you don't know what questions to ask, many people aren't willing to help, and that courts don't care that if you're in jail, you can't pay child support.
The good discoveries I found, I was grateful for. I had told his work the situation, and they marked him off for leave and were more than willing to take him back when he got out of jail. The parole officer is kind and patient and willing to work around his crazy work schedule.
These fortunes are apparently very rare.
When I looked at the syllabus at the beginning of the semester and saw that I was going to be presenting on Marked by Devah Pager, I laughed at the irony of being probably the only person in the class that had been fairly directly involved in the criminal justice system and being assigned a presentation on the criminal justice system.When I was reading chapter one on the history of the criminal justice system, I saw each of her points on how the system is today to be very accurate and relevant. The minimum sentence for failure to pay child support is jail for a month. Since distribution of alcohol for a minor was a first-time offense to which the accuser didn't show up to court, my boyfriend was fortunate to be sentenced to parole. Parole was used as a search for irregularities (drug screening, random checks in at home, proof of employment, etc). The parole officer did laugh when he saw that the charge was for distribution of alcohol to a minor and made a comment to the affect of "When I was your age, we just got a slap on the wrist for that." Since parole is almost over, he's been more lenient on drug screenings. And, when he stopped by the house the other day, he said that he was so surprised to see us home that he wasn't even going to get out of the car.
Enough about real life though. Most ex-offenders don't have this luxury. They have problems finding work and have strict parole officers and rules. Thanks to the negative credential they get from being incarcerated, most are unwilling to hire them. There are a few reasons why employers are unwilling to hire them:
1. Selection. They believe that the kinds of people who wind up in prison don't really want to work, or don't have sufficient skills to find a job.
I personally believe that this varies on a person-to-person basis. Not all offenders don't want to work. Some of them can't find work or don't get paid enough at the job they do have, which can lead to breaking the law.
2. Transformation: The experience of prison changes inmates in ways that make them less suited for the formal labor market.
This I can say can happen. My boyfriend recollects having to act tough in jail so he would be left alone. Once he got out, though, he went back to his normal self. I think anyone can change based on the people they are around all the time. Think about someone you know that got around a different crowd of people and changed their personality and attitude.
3. Credentialing: The stigma of incarceration imposes barriers to finding employment.
Pager claims that American society in general values credentials, both positive and negative, as a basis for making decisions more than any other factor.
For much of the book, Pager talks about the issue of finding work for ex-offenders. She designed a study to test the reaction of employers to the credential of incarceration. In her study, she used four Milwaukee college students. Two were black, matched in age, appearance, and presentation. Two were white, as well matched in age, appearance, and presentation. In each pair, one person was assigned a criminal record per week. Each week, they switched who had the record. For the criminal record holder, the record claimed a felony drug conviction and eighteen months in prison.
The results were staggering. To spare the pain of going through percentages and numbers, I will simply say that going to prison dramatically reduces the chance of getting a job. If you are white with no record, you have a decent chance at getting a job. If you are black with no record, your chances of getting a job are actually lower than if you are white and have been to prison. Finally, if you are black and have been to prison, to put it in the simplest of terms, you're screwed.
While this is a devastating look at the stigma placed on those who go to prison, as well as the stigma placed on race, this isn't even the end of the sad news. Many of those in jails and prison are in there because of alcoholism, drug abuse, homelessness, and mental disabilities. The places they should be are places like rehabilitation centers, homeless shelters, and mental health clinics. However, these places that would most likely really help the people they are meant to help are losing funding every year while jails and prisons get increased funding.
My main question that is still bugging me after reading this book is how do we make this stop? Do we petition to put criminals in prison and everyone else in a place that will help? Do we combine prisons with services such as rehabilitation centers and mental health clinics? Or do we continue on the path that we are on - and what will happen if we do?
Speaking of rehabilitation clinics, if you haven't seen Sandra Bullock's 28 Days, you should. Here's the trailer:
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