An article in the Arizona Daily Star describes how breaking the law is quickly becoming a life sentence to poverty for not only the offender but also their children. In this difficult economy, people with a criminal record cannot find jobs and housing, making it difficult to escape poverty and increasing the temptation to break the law again.
Ex-prisoners here face big obstacles to rebuilding their lives, says Andy Silverman, a University of Arizona law school professor who has led a civil-rights-restoration clinic.
"I get calls almost on a daily basis from folks telling me the problems they are having in getting jobs, renting apartments, applying for professional licenses, etc.," Silverman says. That's true even when the convictions are many years old.
The children of offenders fare even worse. Growing up in poverty takes a toll. The deck is stacked against them in every way possible.
Growing up poor dims kids' chances of success as adults. The chaos that comes with unstable housing, spotty school attendance and limited access to nutritious food and medical care increase the chances kids will grow up to be unemployed, unhealthy and in trouble with the law - in short, the responsibility of taxpayers.
Reporter Patty Malechor makes one other critical point in the article. Mercy works.
Texas in 2007 put a halt to its prison construction boom and instead invested $240 million in treatment and diversion programs. The results have been dramatic, says Pew Charitable Trusts: State taxpayers have avoided nearly $2 billion in new prison spending, and parole failure is down 39 percent.
The real story, though, is the vengeful nature of our society. It is another sign of the hardening of our hearts.
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