Second Chances?

“America is the land of second chance and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.” President George W. Bush spoke those words in his 2004 State of the Union address. Ten years later, and America is still trying to come to grips with the shame that is its criminal justice system.

            In a June 4^th editorial; no less than the New York Times called for an overhaul of the “collateral consequences” that affect a released felon’s successful re-entry to society. Sixty-five (65) million Americans – more than one-in-four adults – have a criminal record. And, that record stays with you long after you’ve done your time. I’m not talking about laws that prohibit pedophiles from working in schools; no, these laws, these collateral consequences, ban a convicted felon – regardless of the nature of the crime – from voting, access to public housing, business and professional licensing, gun possession, immigration status, parental rights, credit rating, employability, even eligibility for benefits.

            The list goes on and on but it is clear that a felony conviction changes your status as a citizen. Worse, a felony conviction sets you up for failure. And failure leads back to prison. These aren’t the ramblings of a criminal blogger. As a conservative columnist noted on Martha Stewart’s release from Federal prison: She “paid her dues,” and “there is simply no reason for anyone to attempt to deny her the right to leave her troubles in the past and start anew.”

            This isn’t about excusing crime; rather it is to recognize that in America, where over 14 million people are arrested each year with 2.2 million behind bars at any given time (more people behind bars than any other country in the world) – most (90%) of whom will be released – second chances are “imperative.” As The New York Times wrote:

            “It is in no one’s interest to keep a large segment of the population on the margins of society.”

            In a recent report compiled by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) it was noted that “collateral consequences can be a criminal defendant’s most serious punishment, permanently relegating a person to second-class status … it is time to reverse this course. It is time to recognize that America’s infatuation with collateral consequences has produced unprecedented an unnecessary collateral damage to society and to the justice system.”

            Second chances. Second chances must mean that once you pay your debt your social status is fully restored. Mandatory collateral consequences should be disfavored and never considered appropriate unless substantially justified by the specific conviction (for example, pedophiles working in schools). Blanket denial of rights – such as voting – or restrictions on employment – or licensing – should never be used unless specifically related to the crimes/convictions. More importantly, credit-reporting agencies should be prohibited from disclosing criminal records on closed cases that didn’t result in convictions, and on convictions that are more than seven years old.

            Every day one or two men leave this facility bound for home; every week another ten to twenty arrive. Most of those returning have been here before. The sad fact is 2 of every 3 released inmates returns within three years. As the NACDL points out, in America’s “War on Crime” the zealous efforts to keep communities safe may have actually destabilized and divided them. “Collateral consequences make the already difficult process of re-integration worse.

            Here in Virginia, the Republican-dominated legislature is in a standoff with the newly elected Democratic Governor over the bi-annual budget. At the same time, in excess of $1.1 billion will be spent in Virginia this year to keep approximately 40,000 men and women in state custody. Virginia continues to cling to regressive “good time earning” for its inmates regardless of their behavior; for the approximate 6000 inmates still covered by the parole system (eliminated in 1994) only 2% are approved annually for discretionary parole and release. While the Governor has the exclusive power to commute any inmate’s sentence, this power is rarely exercised due to the potential political ramifications – i.e. looking “soft” on crime.

            Virginia – more so than many other states – has numerous collateral consequences a released felon faces. While voting right restoration has improved, it is still not automatic upon release. Convicted felons in Virginia are denied most state licenses. Worse, a convicted felon can be denied a driver’s license until court fines and fees are paid (Virginia is one of only eight states which assess as court fees the costs of appointed counsel to poor defendants. These costs typically run in the thousands and, without a driver’s license, many people are unable to get employment).

            Second chances? Those two words may mean the difference between a return trip to prison or leading a productive life. It’s in America’s best interests to make those words matter.

The "F" Word

Words matter.  No doubt about it.  Words paint mental pictures for us.  They can sway our emotions, feeling heartbreak, joy or blinding anger.  Words are important.  And, many times it is the simplest words that carry the most power.  Think of Moses in Exodus, who asked God “who should I say sent me?”  Exodus records God’s simple, yet powerful words, “I am”. 

Hemingway once wrote a six word short story.  You can’t help but be moved by his words, “For sale.  Baby shoes.  Brand new.”  What, we wonder, is the story of the baby?  Why are the shoes for sale?  And our minds suddenly envision a grieving couple looking at an empty crib.  Baby blankets and sleepers and diapers folded neatly on the dresser.  But there is no child.  The baby has died.

Words matter.  Woody Guthrie soulfully singing “This land was made for you and me”.  Bob Dylan hoarsely calling out “The answer is blowin in the wind”.  Dr. King in his soulful, rich baritone calling forth “Free at last.  Free at last.  Thank God Almighty.  Free at last.”  Yes, words matter.

Words can lift up or bring down.  Perhaps that’s why both Solomon and James focused some attention on taming the tongue.  From my own life I know I have a gift for words.  Yet my gift can be a demon.  Too often I have said things in anger, in haste and hurt those near me.  Words are powerful.  Words can create or destroy.

Words.  For the young boy struggling with his sexual identity being called “fag” tears at his soul.  For the young learning disabled girl called “retard” her heart aches.  She feels loneliness and shame.  Words are a sword that cuts and slashes the fabric of our being.

I hear all kinds of words in here.  Each day is a cacophony of expletives.  I’ve heard every imaginable word to describe every race, every ethnicity.  And, I’ve heard words of hope, of longing, of regret, of comfort.

There is one word, the “F” word that matters most to the 2.3 million men and women in America’s prisons.  That word is “Felon” and the stigma and stain it carries does as much as anything to define which released person succeeds or fails.

As Margaret Love, former US Pardon Attorney recently noted,

“Felon is an ugly label that confirms the debased status that accompanies conviction.  It identifies a person as belonging to a class outside many protections of the law, someone who can be freely discriminated against, someone who exists at the margins of society…a legal outlaw and social outcast.  No passage of time,” she says, “or record of good works can erase the mark of Cain.”

Love notes that labeling a person convicted of a crime as a “felon” for life survives even “forgiveness”.  It is, she argues, an unhelpful label for people who have paid their debt to society.  It is also deeply unfair.

Until the late 20^th century prison, criminal justice was seen as a temporary period.  You broke the law, you went to jail.  But, upon your release you returned home.  However, in the last three decades America, under the dual mantras of “war on crime” and “tough on crime” made an industry out of penology.  And the law expanded with literally hundreds and thousands of new crimes created for social behaviors.  Punishment became key and what better way to punish than make a person wear the scarlet “F” for the rest of their life.  As scholar Nora Demleitner has pointed out, using the label “felon” creates a state of internal exile for those wearing the mark.  Today that label applies to more than 20 million Americans.

Labeling those who have paid their debt to society is directly contrary to the expressed goals and efforts to reduce the number of people in prison, and encourage those who are to rehabilitate and then re-enter society as productive citizens.  And, it mocks the myth of America as a land of second chances.

“Felon” arouses a sense of fear and loathing in “law-abiding” citizens.  Who would want to live – or work – with a “felon”?  In Virginia the fact that one is a felon can be used to deny a person employment and access to many grants, loans and benefits programs.  It shouldn’t be that way.  Love correctly argues that it is time to scrap the word “felon” and the equally reprehensible word “offender”.

In Virginia, over 90% of those currently behind bars will be released.  Governor McDonnell has correctly noted that any recidivism is too much recidivism.  He has made re-entry of released prisoners a cornerstone of his administration’s agenda.  But, it is idle words if the stigma of “felon” remains.

Words matter.   So do actions.  It is time to lay to rest “felon” from this nation’s lexicon.