One Reason So Many Felons are Repeat Offenders and How to Fix It
56% of violent felons are repeat offenders and 61% of all felons are repeat offenders, partially because we’ve given them no choice. Many criminals will find themselves out of prison, their time served, free men, and unable to find a job. Most companies will refuse to hire someone with a felony on their police record; this is especially true for violent felons. Left with no employment options, it is easy to imagine that these felons will return to crime. So what can we do about it?
The Law
Currently, when someone commits a crime society has decided it is necessary to punish them. For most felony offenses the punishment is isolation from the rest of society for a predetermined amount of time in a prison. This is fine by me. There are no surprises this way. Everyone knows that if they do X they will be punished with Y. This means no one should ever feel surprised by the punishment they receive.
We also have laws barring people from being prosecuted (punished) more than one for the same crime. These laws exist to keep criminals from being harassed with litigation by the government or a plaintiff unhappy with the outcome. Unfortunately these laws don’t deal with the entire problem, and when it should the supreme court sides on the side of injustice.
The Problem
The problem with these laws is that our definition of what constitutes a punishment is somewhat inaccurate. Through many court decisions it has been accepted providing criminal history to the public does not constitute an additional punishment. But when you are treated differently for the rest of your life, treated with contempt, it certainly feels like punishment to the person trying to turn their life around.
By making this information available they have provided information that should be a private matter - a debt owed and a debt paid. The court believes that the resulting inability to get a job is not additional punishment for their crime. However, given the primary job of these laws is to provide a known deterrent for committing the crime in the first place, perhaps people would be less likely to commit these crimes if they realized ahead of time that they would be almost entirely unemployable after the fact.
Additionally, there have been a number of complaints about Megan’s Law, the law requiring sex offenders to register, but the Supreme Court has decided that it doesn’t constitute double jeopardy.I’ve lived in a neighborhood that had a ex-sex-offender move in and I would say most people’s attitudes were decidedly negative. Their have been instances of sex offenders moving into new neighborhoods and having their homes vandalized. Police show up at their door whenever anything unusual goes on. They can never live a normal life. Of course you’ll say the victim can never live a normal life after their attack. If that’s really how you feel we should be working towards a system where we arrange for the criminal to be raped daily for a few years. An eye for an eye? Sorry, It’s a little dispassionate for me and current prisons are only barely better for sex offenders in their current state.
These types of laws represent neither the the spirit of the law nor the spirit of our justice system. If we believe in our justice system and we believe these offenders are ‘rehabilitated’ then why must they suffer the badge of that crime indefinitely? We have decided that juvenile records should be locked to these types of searches to forgive ‘youthful indiscretions’, kids making bad decisions. But, once you hit 18 that ability to make good decisions better be cranked up to 11 (It’s 1 more than 10) because now you get branded a felon for the rest of your life. I hear your complaints immediately, “Only people released on parole are supposedly rehabilitated the others aren’t”. I agree.
The Solution
The problem is the black and white nature of the law. We assign some arbitrary number of years to each felony and we call it even. The fact that things like sex offender registries and employment problems for ex felons exist means we don’t trust these people to not do it again. I think the answer is we stop telling people when they will be released.
We should assign the penalty of ‘life’ to all felonies with a parole hearing every 5 years. Implement more programs designed around reforming our criminals and when the parole board decides they are rehabilitated they are let out. No one can check their criminal background, make it illegal for employers to even ask the question. We will get rid of the sex registry - If the person is out on the streets it’s because the parole board decided they were no longer a threat to society. If a handful of people in a jury box are enough to decide if someone is guilty then a handful of people on a review panel are enough to decide if someone should go free, we an even make this a public service - just like jury duty. On a second offense, for the same crime, we assign the penalty of life and allow parole hearings every 10 years while making their criminal record publicly available. Of course, for a third offense of the same crime it’s game over. Either life in prison or the death penalty in cases involving murder.
These simple steps will allow us to get felons in jobs where they hopefully won’t be tempted to return to whatever criminal pursuits they previously enjoyed. Also, society will have a way to determine if someone should be released just like they determine guilt. Some people may think my solution especially harsh, I think it is far kinder than the reality faced by reformed ex-convicts today. It has the compassion our current system lacks - the good judgement of the people - and will remove silly negotiations for plea bargaining - a practice with no concern for the public’s best interest… but that’s a separate post.
If you liked this article and are interested in reading more like it you can subscribe to our rss feed for free updates.
The problem with the conclusion is that it is based on a series of false premises.
In fact, the conclusions display a striking amount of ignorance about the subject matter.
This is not bad, in and of, itself. Ignorance can be ended with education. However, stupidness, the kind I run into on a daily basis in the criminal justice system, is often fueled by the atomic power of denial: The stupid refuse to learn despite the option to do so.
Recidivism is caused by a very simple math formula, as is most crime:
Your Brain = Your Behavior.
Healthy brain, healthy behavior. Unhealthy brain, unhealthy behavior.
Thus, the solution is a diagnostic evaluation upon pretrial release screening, treatment as a condition of bond, and consideration for treatment at sentencing.
The unfortunate side effect of this effective crime reduction method is . . . that it actually works. Most people would rather stick with preconceived nonsensical notions rather than admit they might be wrong. Science and reason rarely win against raw emotion.
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com
First, let me get this out. I am totally against ANY form of abuse to any human being. And I believe anyone who murders another human being should be in prison for the rest of their life (until they die). I do not believe in the death penalty for anyone. Also, I believe that once a person has been in and out of prison and has served their probation and parole, done everything required of them, and what was signed on the “contract” when they took the plea, none of this should be required of them, none of it. The state cannot tear up a contract like this, which they are basically doing, it’s unconstitutional. Many people, if they had known they would be faced with all this, they would have NOT taken a plea deal. And the courts are very aware of this and this is why they made it retroactive; thus violating ex-post facto laws! They should be allowed to get on with their life as if nothing happened. I’m not saying for it to be removed from their record, but, the crime should be removed from public view and background checks, they should not have any more restrictions, shaming, etc. If they commit another crime, then they face a lot more punishment, like everything else is treated.
When are we going to move away from being “TOUGH ON CRIME” and move to being “SMART ON CRIME?” If you locked every single s*x offender up, at this moment, or killed every one of them, do you think the problem is over? No, more will follow.
I’ve heard many people say “If these laws protect one child, then they are worth it!” And at the same time, if millions are tortured, it’s ok. Offenders are losing their homes, jobs, families, and children and cannot find new jobs or homes due to the insanity of these laws. The families are also made into outcasts for associating with or being related to an ex-offender and their own children are harassed and bullied at schools due to a family member being an ex-offender.
I know these laws are a sensitive issue, but as all issues, they must be discussed and we must come up with a valid solution that will work. The laws, as they exist now, DO NOT WORK! People are always saying they cause unintended consequences. These laws have been on the books for years now, so nothing is unintended anymore. When are we going to set aside fear, hate, rage and anger and come up with a real solution? History has proven that these feelings NEVER get good laws passed but only create bad ones that punish and torture many people. These knee-jerk reactions to a slim number of high-profile crimes, like Adam Walsh and Jessica Lunsford, MUST STOP!
When an ex-offender is forced to move from his/her home, thus having to sell it, cannot find another home within the law due to the residency “buffer” zones, get fired from their jobs due to being on the registry, cannot find a new job due to being on the registry, their husband/wife lose their jobs due to a significant other being on the registry, their children lose their friends and are harassed and bullied in school due to a family member being on the registry, thus destroying the children’s lives, ex-offenders are forced into homelessness and to live under bridges, harassed by police, neighbors and probation/parole officers, have to wear “I’m a s*x offender T-shirt” or have a neon green license plate on ALL their cars, have “s*x offender” on their drivers license and forced to renew their licenses every year, forced from shelters during tornadoes or hurricanes, cannot give blood at some places due to being discriminated against for being on the s*x offender registry, denied housing due to being on the registry, signs placed in their yards inviting harassment and ridicule from the neighbors, forced to move when the neighbors start picketing outside the ex-offenders home, the list is endless.
I THINK THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, BEYOND THE EXTREME!
Stephen,
The conclusion here is that this is one reason why recidivism occurs, not that it is the only reason. There are certainly a number of other issues that play a large part in this ranging from upbringing to chemical imbalances and further. Also, I agree that we need comprehensive diagnostics and required treatment as part of sentencing. I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear.
More recidivism studies here:
http://sexoffenderstudies.blogspot.com/search/label/Recidivism
http://sexoffenderstudies.blogspot.com/2008/10/state-specific-recidivism-studies.html
I don’t think this would work well. We’re already letting people go far ahead of their scheduled sentences because the system is too full. I don’t think that the penalty of not being able to get a job is a problem since a very high percentage of people commiting felonies know what they’re doing and accept the risk. Being an outcast for violence should be a good deterient against the crime. Perhaps in the case of felonies that we’re premeditated this system would work but so many criminals know the choice they’re making and its outcome but make that choice anyway.
Same reason I refuse to give money to panhandlers, they have tons of resources available to help them find a job (might not be that great but still a paying job) and a place to eat and sleep etc. But they’re choosing not to use those resources because they’ll be stretched or they’re lazy.
I don’t think we should give criminals a break on getting a job when they know the choice they’re making will end in disaster.
I don’t think his idea was really to let them go early. I think the idea was to keep them longer. They must be reformed before they get out.
I wouldn’t want to EVER let them out unless they were judged reformed by a jury, similar to the way in which they were convicted. Also, I’m not convinced that they all realize how bad the things will be after they have ‘repayed their debt to society’.
I agree with the writer of the original post. Possibly because I am a convicted felon. I am currently thirty years old, however at 18 I rented a car in my aunts name and wrecked it. My aunt did not want to press charges, however the car had to be paid for so the rental company pressed charges. At 18 years old, I was an A student and a felon. I did not understand the consequences until I tried to get a job after completing 4 years in college. I had gotten a degree, paid my debt to the car company and successfully completed my parole. I haven’t been able to get a job with my degree for eight years. Now at thirty I am unable to completely care for myself. Fortunately I have a wonderful family that is understanding and unbiased. Others are not as fortunate and end up depressed, addicted to drugs and repeat offenders. It is definitely a problem and this was the first good answer I have heard in 12 years. Thanks
I believe the system is fed by angry people that, like me, can not stand the thought of someone harming a child in a sexual manner. It’s a horrific thought to try and process. I believe that most people can not process such a thought rationally. Like myself, they get very angry by the very thought of such a terrible act.I was convicted of 4th degree sexual contact because the detective decided to pump up the charges on me as high as he could because I wouldn’t admit to something I just didn’t do. I was caught pleasing myself in my own vehicle while driving down the road. A school bus pulled up beside me without me realizing until it was too late. I new I was up high enough so nobody would see me. However, I didn’t consider or anticipate a school bus.I was taking Viagra to help with some sexual problems between me and my fiance at the time, and was experiencing uncontrolable erections due to the viagra. The prosecutor threw the book at me because I wouldn’t admit to intentionally following around school buses to show myself to children. Now I am labeled a sex offender even though they didn’t require me to register. Trying to find a job is almost completely impossible. I had a good job but was laid off because of the recession. My former employer knows about the charges against me and knows that I am a good person that made a stupid mistake. But it seems to me that the law allows no consideration for cases such as mine. I am treated almost the same as if I had went out and raped a child. If I was truely a sex offender, I would have absolutely no incentive to reform. What’s even worse is the background check indicates the orignal pumped up charge the detective sought from the grand jury. Sexual assault. Tell me how this is fair to someone who didn’t even approach anyone sexually, much less touch them. Our country’s judicial system is founded on the principles of punishment, fairness, and compassion for those who are truely aware and remorseful of there mistake. It should not be left up to individual prosecutors who can not control there own emotions well enough to deliver a fair and unbiased indictment. I made a mistake. I didn’t sexually abuse anyone, but I made a mistake. Why should someone like me have to spend the rest of thier lives trying to overcome it. Lets face it, we all have masterbated at times in our lives. It’s a natural human thing to do when we need to fulfill our very human needs. The only real crime I commited was doing so in an inappropriate place. My car. I will soon be forced to give up and take to the streets to live because I can not find gainful employment, mainly because I am considered a sex offender. I hope this country wakes up some day and realizes that when laws are created based on hate for a particulair act or group of imoral people, they can have detrimental circumstances for the people who are victims of the inappropriate actions of disgruntled law enforcement officials.