Alwin Jacob Smith became a free man last summer after being locked up for 21 years because of what he calls “my little old rocky past” — most notably, robbery and drug possession.
He worked hard while incarcerated, getting an associate degree in ministry, attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and substance abuse support groups, and eventually leading those groups as a peer mentor. Smith’s release, which he celebrated with a steak-and-eggs breakfast, came about through a California law that allows prosecutors to reevaluate sentences to determine whether they were excessive — in his case, 65 years to life.
And when he was finally released, Smith, 52, was given an unexpected kind of support in his transition: cash.
Roughly 1 in 3 American adults have criminal records. Even in the best of times, those who have been incarcerated face stigma and significant hurdles in the job market. They return home without savings or other financial resources, and earn around half what their never-incarcerated peers make annually, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law.
1:3 have some type of criminal record! And we know this too.
The National Registry of Exonerations Releases Grim, Eye-Opening Report
As for the novelty of the idea of utilizing startup cash for released, it is not new. However it sounds to me that somebody’s feeling guilty. And a little cash helps ease the pang of that guilt. I honestly believe this is precisely why we’ve recently seen cash payouts under certain administrations ( presidents) to the people. Americans do not complain though, not even a pang of guilt.
One clear benefit of over criminalization of the population in operating a nation w\30T in debt obligations & large ancillary debt burdens is that the future expected outlays are greatly decreased. The article points out the decrease wage expectations once a citizen becomes a convicted. So if you are a group of plantation owners and the workers retirement agreements, which you agreed to are corroding your ballance sheet, it makes financial sense to strip the young working class of lifetime earning potential. We hear the budget hawks ( Plantation penny pinchers, PPPs .. if you will) consistently grumbling about “Entitlement programs” and what better way to balance the long term books than deny access to that future by forging felons ( violent men) out of those not. ( some guy jacking off to unlawful porn), (The guy playing grab ass or pissing in the park), ( Some kid taking a nude picture & “sharing” it.)