In December 2005, at the age of 22, I agreed to 7-years deferred adjudication in lieu of facing a prison sentence. Naively, I thought I dodged the bullet and assumed probation was nothing more than a monthly urinary analysis. I quickly learned the err of assuming.
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In 1984 the Sentencing Reform Act was passed into legislation introducing mandatory sentencing to the criminal justice system. Essentially this means that a committee got together and discussed different crime violations and decided on a non-negotiable amount of time an offender will have to spend behind bars no matter what. Outlined by FAMM, a sentencing and prison policies reform organization here is the problem, “Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require judges to give all offenders convicted of a certain crime the same punishment — regardless of whether it fits the crime or the offender or is necessary to keep the public safe. Judges are not allowed to consider any special facts or unique circumstances, the offender’s role, the person’s motive or profit, whether someone was actually injured, and whether the person is likely to reoffend or can be rehabilitated. Mandatory minimum sentences result in lengthy, excessive sentences for many people, leading to injustices, prison crowding, high costs for taxpayers — and less public safety.” The bottom line, a squeaky clean record won’t gain you redemption or a lighter sentence just a hope that additional time won’t be added.
The justice system, specifically the housing system, of America can make life much more difficult for someone with a criminal record. For example, though millions of people are released from jails and prisons combined every year in America, many of them have no family to move in with and have trouble finding proper housing of their own upon release. Those with mental illness are even more likely to face this kind of dilemma. With that being said, homelessness is a common issue amongst people who come out of jails and prisons trying to acclimate themselves back into the real world. Not only does this contribute overall to homelessness in America in this direct manner, but in many cases, it also causes people without criminal records to have to compete with them for the very same housing assistance resources. In many cases, people with criminal records are denied public housing altogether.
Probation and Parole is often described as a trap, one foot in the door (prison) one foot out. For many offenders who can’t afford adequate counsel, probation can seem like a saving grace a second chance, a way to avoid incarceration. However, the truth about probation and parole is that it’s the leading cause of mass incarceration and greatly contributes to an overcrowded prison system.
Having a criminal record comes with a price even after one has served his or her time. Criminal records have long-lasting effects on individuals even after their probation or parole term has expired. Being labeled a “criminal” with a criminal conviction on one’s record exempts people for many opportunities including employment, benefits, and housing access.
History students across the country grow up learning that the United States of America is “the land of the free” but what they aren’t being taught is that the US is also the land of the harshly punished and overly incarcerated as well. Currently, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the WORLD with an incarceration rate that has increased by 500 percent over the past 40 years. A closer look at how harsh the US is when it comes to punishment, one would find that 1 out 7 individuals incarcerated is serving a life sentence; that is a whooping 314,000 people that will spend significant portions of their lives locked down in a jail cell like an animal.
Once a person completes a court order probation, serves a prison sentence day-for day or time served in conjunction with a period of time spent on parole, the truth of the situation is the court order punishment has ended. The debt owed to society is considered paid upon successfully discharging a sentence. However for many individuals with criminal records, the balance owed for breaking the law extends beyond incarceration, probation, and parole.
Please join me in a fictitious tale based on unfortunate real life events. Times have always been hard for Marquan, a Shreveport native, for as far back as he could remember. He never had money for lunch let alone fifty cents for fundraising popcorn sold after school. He was very observant about the fact that his red shirts weren’t as bright as many of his elementary peers’ red shirts when they wore them. He noticed how white the shoe strings were on their brand new shoes and he resented the fact that he had never been given shoes fresh out of a box before. Marquan’s observant eye continued to admire the fortunes of other students all the way up to high school.
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August 2024
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