Integrate ex offenders
Once someone has paid time and money to the satisfaction of the court for a crime, that person should be given an opportunity to become a functional member of society through employment and a restored right to vote.
I support the Ban the Box campaign and agree with its premise “anything that makes it harder for ex-offenders to find a job makes it likelier that they will re-offend, which is bad for society”. We must also find ways to fight prejudice due to removing upfront criminal background disclosure.
I dislike felony disenfranchisement and would like to either eliminate it nationally or at least restore full voting rights immediately after a sentence is completed. It has been shown disenfranchisement laws are disproportionately used where there are higher rates of minority felons, so I am inclined to err on the side of preventing discrimination and getting rid of such laws entirely.
In the United States, the agencies that govern prisons are often called ‘Department of Corrections.’ And yet, their focus is on containing and controlling inmates. Dan Pacholke, Deputy Secretary for the Washington State Department of Corrections, shares a different vision: of prisons that provide humane living conditions as well as opportunities for meaningful work and learning.
