TOW# 22: Ex-convicts Near You

       After spending over three years in prison, James Daniels thought that he had done his time paying for his crime. So when he was released, he was surprised to find that the majority of American society would be unable to see past the previous felony. He spent four years following his release working hard to earn a second chance in this country, only to be rejected in both economic and social aspects. Daniels explained his situation, detailing its roots in misconceptions held by the common citizens of America. "I made dumb mistakes when I was younger that led to my conviction," Daniels tells everyone, "But there's a lot more to me than just that."

       In the four years since his release from prison, Richard Cobbs has applied to over 75 different jobs, each one with no successful result. It is not for dispossessing the proper experience or the proper skills, in fact, at age 52, Cobbs has gained experience in laundry, sanitation, and catering work, as well as training in basic culinary arts. The reason he faces numerous denials is because of a simple little box; a box which many of us check off without a second thought, a box which imprisons a person to certain social standard, a box which determines the content of your character for you, a box which labels you an ex-criminal. Cobbs is just one of the current 70 million people in our country who have felony records and who, because of this record, are automatically disqualified from jobs even before getting an interview. A practice like this does not encourage the path to normal life for ex-convicts, but instead disallows it by hindering the steps necessary to support oneself in the world. Without a job many of these ex-felons are kept from the fundamental requirements for life, causing many to face the difficult choice of looking for different ways to provide themselves with basic food and shelter. It is this sense of hopelessness caused from a denial of necessities that often causes these people to reenter the incarceration system, not a desire to commit crimes again. Attempting to continue a normal life under these conditions is difficult, but living with the social stigma of being an ex-convict is nearly impossible.