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Second Chance Act Pros And Cons

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In March 2008, U.S Congress passed the Second Chance Act. It was passed to reduce the number of people returned to jail after parole release, not because of a crime committed, but because of small violations or other reasons. It was put in place to help the paroles live a better life. It also put in place new services and programs to help paroles get their life in order. Programs like Reentry courts, Educating and Training people for jobs while they are in prison, mentoring programs to adults and teens getting out of jail, drug treatment, alternatives to jail time and other programs to ensure that people who are in the system get a ‘second chance’ in life.
In North Carolina the Second Chance Act (Alliance) is consisted of advocacy organizations, service providers, faith-based organizations, community leaders and interested citizens …show more content…

It is so hard to find a job and with this act it is very helpful in deterring people from reverting back to their old ways. I am on Probation right now and it is so hard to get a job. It feels like no one will hire me even though I just have a misdemeanor on my record for a weed charge (Weed is legal in other states in America so I do not understand why people judge weed so harshly.) North Carolina has many different resources and programs to allow paroles and people with criminal records a chance to find work and better their lives. Programs like North Carolina Criminal Justice Resource Directory, Resource Center without Walls, NC Prisoner Legal Services Resources to Assist Inmates after Release, North Carolina Handbook for Family and Friends of Inmates, and A Reentry Guidebook for Incarcerated Veterans in North Carolina. All of these plus many more are resources Paroles and people with criminal records can use to get a job and help them make better choices and hopefully deter them from re-entering that life they had before where they did illegal

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In chapter 15 of Corrections in America, the author outlined the history of parole and compares and contrast parole and pardon. The author also describes the current status of parole in the United States and the prisoner reentry process. In addition, this chapter explains how parole is granted and the role of the parole board, how parole supervision is terminated, re entry courts, and the effectiveness of parole. Parole is a correctional option that often evokes feelings.

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Because many parolees have felony convictions, it is difficult to find a job to pay such costs, leading probation officers to send individuals either back to jail or to the prisoner work crew that picks up trash on the side of the freeways for not complying with the terms of their probation. Similar to the vagrancy law Alexander (2012) describes post slavery where slaves that did not have employment was in violating the of law and sentence as slave labor to pay off their debt to the Criminal Justice

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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are currently over 2.2 million individuals serving time in federal and state prison, with 95 percent of those individuals being released and returning to their perspective communities across the nation. Majority of those individuals returning have needs that was either unaddressed while incarcerated or during the reentry process, which will negatively impact their ability to live a crime free productive life while in the community. Once released from prison, inmates are faced with a myriad of challenges such as finding stable housing, maintaining employment, combating substance abuse, and addressing physical and mental health problems. However, with the help of community support, offenders would less likely return back to prison and are

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Furthermore, this leaves room for states to implement their own practices and ways to address status offenders. It has also been argued that the Act “fractured the juvenile justice system so that officials in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare handled white, middle-income youth” (Hinton, 2015, p. 816). Programs which labeled white youths as “children in trouble” marked minority youths as “chronic offenders” who were deemed a danger to society, and tried as an adult. The exceptions and revisions that have been made to the Act make it possible for repeat status offenders to be detained in secure

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Should Convicted Felons be Entitled to More Rights? Everyday thousands of individuals are incarcerated into the United States prison system. As soon as these jailed individuals start their term, they give up multiple rights they had prior to being convicted. Each convicted felon is treated the same regardless of the crime they committed and lose the same amount of rights. The amount of constitutional rights taken away from convicted felons should depend on the severity of their crime.

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After leaving prison, a felon is already viewed as not as important as a citizen who has never committed a crime. It can be very difficult to participate and take part in community activities such as getting a job. Felons feel unimportant and unwanted. It is unjust for felons to be treated this way. Several people who have been incarcerated have been interviewed on this topic.

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The article “Prisoner Reentry in a Small Metropolitan Community: Obstacles and Policy Recommendations” by Brett Garland, Eric J. Wodahl, and Julie Mayfield explains how the study proves that rehabilitation services provided during imprisonment for inmates that are going to reentry society are beneficial. In the study 43 male offenders were asked to identify which programs help them or that can help them to reentry society. It is mention in the article that the main obstacles male offenders face after reentering includes employment and reconnection with their

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The Justice Reinvestment Act was a national project, mainly designed to reduce state spending on corrections and apply those savings to community programs that decrease crime and strengthen communities. The Council of State Governments Justice Center, or CSG, headed the project and conducted a study of North Carolina’s criminal justice system to identify

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When people get out of prison they are afraid of going back. They don't have a reason to change. Most people don't have a way of even getting a job once there out as stated here, ”I work in a medium security prison in North Carolina that serves young men ages 18 to 25. There is one segment of our population that no program addresses. This is the group that will probably never be able to get a GED, and therefore they do not qualify for many of the programs designed to help with job

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Life after incarceration, here today gone tomorrow. 95% of adults sentenced to prison will return to our communities, and reentry will be their first step back into society. Imagine have a thousand questions flooding one’s mind all at once. Where will I live, how will I survive, and contribute to the family, while maintaining to the stipulations of one’s parole/ probation, without risking freedom. The number one goal for those newly released back into society by way of the reentry program is to never return to the inside of a prison cell.

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Many felons go back to the same iniquitous behavior because after they served their time society still punish them with voting rights, the ability of carrying a gun, or even basic as getting an apartment. I truly believe in some cases, not having a second chance results in having a high unemployment and crime rate. The idea that people deserve a second chance is an important American value. In 2010, there were over 2 million individuals classified as a felon in the United States.

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Working Ex-Prisoners The move from prisoner to the community is not a new occurrence. The huge majority of prisoners are released to society and come across the challenges of adjusting to the freedom, attractions, duties, and struggles of the street. With over the years, there has been an increase of inmate releases that is amplified even further because prisoners are spending longer periods of time in prison and have fading access to education and training programs that could support their transition upon release. Over the past years, inmates have been released without post-prison supervision and without services to help them with finding jobs, housing, and supported services.

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They have more opportunities because they have not been locked in a cell for a number of years. Instead in restorative justice the offender is required to do things like community service and communicating with the victim of their crime. Giving offenders more options after they have committed a crime can help them get back on their feet because they would have a better chance of getting a job. They would have a better chance of getting a job because they wouldn’t be out of a job as long as if they were in jail for years. Also hopefully by the offender not spending years in jail and doing things like community service they learn their lesson and will be less likely to commit another crime in the future compared to someone who spent years in jail.

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Second, I would recommend that there be some form of government funded employment opportunities for parolees.

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