Where We Live: Out of Prison
There are nearly 5000 people out of prison and under state supervision in CT
There are nearly five thousand people out of prison and under state supervision in Connecticut.
Most of these parolees return to their neighborhoods looking for job opportunities, and to try to make a new life. But in an already bad economic time, how are ex-offenders able to secure decent employment? How many of them end up back behind bars?
WNPR’s Jeff Cohen has been looking into this story, introducing us to some former prisoners as they begin life on the outside.
Today, where we live, conversation with Chairman of Parole and Pardons Robert Farr – and with advocates for prisoner reentry programs.
As Connecticut struggles with high costs of incarceration – and crowded facilities – the state faces a future where more prisoners may be released on parole and probation. So, does the system work?
Today's show originally broadcast on May 12, 2010.
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A lot of times when a person grows up in a neighborhood and they do the wrong things in that neighborhood, and meet the wrong people in that neighborhood it’s hard to go back to that environment and succeed.
Comments
Listener email from Kris
I would like you to address the fact that it isn't solely a matter of
parolees working hard to stay clean and avoid the people and places that
may have brought them to prison in the first place, but rather the system wants them back in prison.
You have a felony and essentially NO One is going to hire you. You check that box and you are done for. Please address this barrier to parolees. This is the biggest hurdle to them by far. There is no such thing as serving your time and then be done. Felony status is a life sentence in itself.
If we want to change the thinking of "inmates" we need to start refer to
them as people, not inmates, not numbers. The are people in prison, not
criminals, human beings.
As much as we need to change their thinking about this, we need to change our own.
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