Prison sentences are punitive enough, considering that inmates give up their basic constitutional and human rights in addition to being away from their loved ones. As much as felons deserve the punishment they get in correctional facilities the society should give them a second chance once they are released. Essentially, correctional facilities rehabilitate offenders to abandon their criminal tendencies and instead engage in nation-building activities. However, society is biased towards ex-felons, as evidenced by the discrimination they experience as they try to reintegrate. This reality is what pushed President Barack Obama to advocate for the “Ban the Box” campaign, which is about removing the criminal record checkbox from job applications (Remarks by the President,” 2015). This campaign is a practical strategy that aims to provide ex-prisoners with equal opportunities to contribute to the well-being of their society.
Focus on Invisible Punishments
Society treats people who have been convicted of crimes with suspicion since they are viewed as a threat, considering that there is a likelihood to revert to vices. This suspicion paves the way for invisible punishments, including denial of basic rights including housing, voting, and leadership opportunities. Davidson (2016) provides the example of Pedro Collazo, an ex-convict who was barred from renting an apartment in Queens due to his criminal background. This example indicates that criminal justice system players should facilitate public education workshops to create awareness on the need to reintegrate ex-convicts into communities. Society should eliminate this invisible punishment to reduce the likelihood of a rise in recidivism rates (Siegel & Bartolas, 2108). Essentially, ex-convicts who feel that society continues to judge them harshly even after paying for their crimes may resort to substance abuse or other reckless behavior to validate themselves.
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Applying Philosophy of Punishment
The criminal justice system designs and implements laws, structures, and frameworks that help it to achieve its mandate of maintaining law and order. Incarceration of offenders is a practical way of punishing and rehabilitating offenders before releasing them into society. Retribution is a practical philosophy that can be used to explore invisible punishments that are meted on ex-offenders. According to Cederblom (2020), the punishment that an offender gets should be proportional to the crimes that he or she committed. Correctional facilities achieve this objective by ensuring that offenders serve enough to pay for their crimes. Thus it would be unfair for society to discriminate against ex-felons by denying them housing and employment opportunities based on their past.
References
Cederblom, J. (2020). Philosophies of punishment. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 20 (4), 234-251. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.254
Davidson, J. (2016, October 27). ‘ Invisible punishment’ hits ex-felons for life; DOJ, HUD fight blanket rental bias . The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/27/invisible-punishment-hits-ex-felons-for-life-doj-hud-fight-blanket-rental-bias/
Remarks by the President at the NAACP Conference . (2015, July 14). https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/14/remarks-president-naacp-conference
Siegel, L. J., & Bartolas, C. (2018). Corrections today (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.
