Archive for September 6, 2007
Re-entry problems
Sep 6th
Grits writes today of the counterproductive nature of policies that bar felons from gaining employment upon release. He points to this press release by the CEO of a security camera surveillance company lamenting the foolishness of such policies. I agree with both of them, but I don’t think any shift in policy will happen any time soon. Rehabilitation and re-integration into society have long been abandoned as goals of the correctional institutions and the penal system in this country (and many others).
Think about it. What is the last thing you want a just released inmate to be doing? Nothing. That’s right. You don’t want him to be sitting around on street corners wondering where the next meal is going to come from or where he’s going to sleep. That is not a good formula for re-integration. More often than not, he will resort to the only thing he knows: How to make quick money. More often than not, that will not involve legitimate means. Crime will continue to occur.
If we are to make our streets safer and to reduce the burden on taxpayers, then we need to focus on re-entry programs and in assisting recently released inmates obtain lawful employment. The money we spend on these programs will be quickly offset by the savings from reduced incarceration costs, law enforcement costs and will only help local economies.
So what is standing in the way? Are we that invested in the idea that “criminals” are “monsters” and “evil” and cannot be salvaged? Are we that invested in our moral highground that we cannot see beyond our own nose?
No one is better off with these policies. Which is why I was extremely glad when Connecticut introduced a proposal to provide gate pay to inmates earlier this year. We need more steps like these to ensure that when inmates are released, they aren’t forced back into a life of crime.
National Lawyers’ Guild forum this Saturday
Sep 6th
Just a reminder that the NLG forum at Quinnipiac University is this Saturday. Details in my previous post here.
What was Sen. Craig thinking?
Sep 6th
No, not in his recent turnaround, but in his original decision to plead guilty. Fellow blogger Karoli e-mailed me while I was on vacation and asked this very question (here‘s her post on the topic). She writes:
Well, if you get this, I’d love to hear your take on why Sen. Craig would plead guilty to charges of solicitation when he didn’t appear to do anything wrong. I just heard the tape and unless pickups in restrooms are incredibly nuanced, he should have simply fought it.
Now, I haven’t heard the tape, but I can imagine why a criminal defendant (which he is) would plead guilty rather quickly (3 months is relatively quickly). Probably the biggest reason is that they just want to get it over with. My understanding is that this charge isn’t a felony; just a misdemeanor. Penalties for misdemeanors aren’t severe – usually a fine or jail time less than a year. It’s a minor charge and to prevent it dragging out for a while, they plead guilty to get it over with and move on.
Offers are also better in cases like these. If the attorney talks to the prosecutors and says that the client will plead today, but the offer must come down a bit, the State is likely to bite. They have a defendant willing to take a plea, which saves the State time and energy and money, so they’re more inclined to make a good offer.
Regular defendants (read: those who can’t make bail) also want to prevent sitting in jail pre-trial as much as possible. Their reasoning is that if they’re going to be held, they might as well plead quickly and start serving their sentence asap.
Sen. Craig, I suspect, also wanted to get this news out of the media glare as soon as possible. His wasn’t an enviable position to be in, given his stance on gay marriage. The longer it stays in the spotlight, the worse he looks. Out of sight, out of mind.
It could also be that he just got bad advice from his attorney. Hey, it’s been known to happen.
As to what is motivating him to reconsider his decision to plead guilty, I have no idea. I’m less convinced that he’ll be able to withdraw his plea of guilty.
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