Great Expectations
- Dr. Mary M. Roberson
- Mar 19, 2023
- 3 min read
From prisoner, family, and loved ones expectations.
Great Expectation is a thirteenth-century coming-of-age novel by Charles Dickens. It is a simple story of Phillp "Pip" Pirrip, who comes from poverty to wealth. The road to his wealth has twists and turns that changes Pip's personality. From the beginning, many expectations conscript Pip's life and decisions. The first is when an escaped convict (Abel Magwitch) finds him and expects Pip to steal for him, which Pip does. Abel is captured, but the mark on Pip is profound. He starts to plan his own expectation for his life.
Today, in our prisons, many expectations are heaped on the men and women outside their control. They are expected to behave in specific ways to maintain a conscripted level of civility. Clinically, this is an excellent way to treat those who have committed a crime within our society. However, in some areas, we could have gone too far in our expectations or have we morphed society's expectations into those of a few. Prison reform is an attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of our penal system or implement alternatives to incarceration.
Some of today's prisons treat their inmates as less than human. In the article from the United Nations (1990), The Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners stated that All prisoners shall be treated with respect due to their inherent dignity and values as human beings. Additionally, the article goes on to say that with the participation and help of the community and social institutions. Due to the interests of victims, favorable conditions shall be created for the reintegration of the ex-prisoner into society under the best possible conditions. The question is, "How are we applying these ideals in our current prison system?"
What are our Great Expectations for the prisoners while they are inside and when they are released from prison? How can we as a society assist those individual human beings in integrating back into society? Ideally, the ex-prisoner will have personal expectations of wanting to integrate back into their community as contributing member. Unfortunately, this can be difficult because, as a society, we put an additional level of harshness on this emerging community member by making it challenging to find employment, housing, and even food.
In a 2022 report from Prison Policy Initiative, the employment rate over the last four years has steadily risen. (add graphic) There are many jobs, but they need to offer stability or economic mobility for this vulnerable population. The article says that as a society, we implement harsh parole conditions, lack of social welfare programs, and a tough job market forcing ex-prisoners to low-income and the least desirable jobs or back into the activities that put them in prison in the first place.
As we move into the future, prisoners, their families, loved ones, and society must look at how we expect those who integrate into our community. We need to understand our treatment and current culture must change and work together to end exploitative practices that hurt all of us. In 2023, The Second Chance Business Coalition, led by Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Craig Arnold, Chairman and CEO of Eato, brought together three dozen corporations from Walmart to AT&T and Microsoft to work to recruit and retain people with criminal records.
In addition to companies working on this cultural challenge, state governments are taking steps to allow felonies and misdemeanors to be expunged. According to the Restoration of Rights Project, fourteen states follow this practice.
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Illinois
Kansas
Massachusetts
Michigan
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Dakota
Washington
Twenty-three (23) states have limited felony & misdemeanor relief. These states are:
Califonia
Connecticut
Delaware
Idaho
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
new Hersey
new york
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wyoming
Five other states allow the expungement of pardoned felonies and certain misdemeanors only. Three states and the District of Columbia allow misdemeanor expungement. Finally, five states and the federal system have no expungement law. Without broad record-clearing laws, a person with even a minor criminal conviction will always be treated as lesser.
What are your expectations for us who have family members or loved ones who have or will be discharged from prison? What are their expectations? How are you going to manage these cultural and societal expectations? Whether personal or professional, this is an area where everyone is involved.
By Dr. Mary M. Roberson EdD
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