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Study: Released Inmates Face Big Obstacles in Society
May 23, 2003

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Research Summary

A report from the Sentencing Project shows that current laws will create big obstacles for the more than 625,000 inmates being released from prison this year, the Washington Post reported May 21.

According to the report, the restrictions that former prisoners returning to society face amount to added years of "invisible punishment." Among the obstacles listed in the report are denial of welfare benefits for those convicted of even minor drug-related offenses, ineligibility for accommodations in public housing, and restrictions on employment. Shortages of transitional housing and addiction treatment are added problems.

According to the report, laws that place restrictions on former prisoners make it difficult for them to stay out of prison and remain crime-free. "There's always been an American belief that once you pay your debt, you are free to rejoin the community, but these policies now form a sort of permanent second-class citizenship," said Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Sentencing Project and co-editor of the report.

According to Justice Department statistics, the number of inmates being released has more than doubled since 1994. Of the inmates released, more than 60 percent are rearrested within three years.

Among the laws that work against released prisoners are the Higher Education Act of 1998, which prohibits anyone convicted of drug-related offenses from receiving student loans, and a 1996 federal law that bans people convicted of drug offenses from ever again receiving family welfare benefits and food stamps.

"They come out of jail hopeful, clean, and sober, and then come out and run into this brick wall," said Amy Hirsch, an attorney with Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. "All the things they need to get their life started back is off limits, and there's nothing they can do about it. They wind up homeless, back on the street. The laws have a terrible effect on their ability to refrain from relapsing into addiction."

Some lawmakers are working on bills that would rescind some of these restrictions. For instance, legislation introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) would make former drug offenders eligible for the student-loan program. Another bill by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) would allow released felons to vote in federal elections.

The Sentencing Project study is one of 16 essays and reports that were collected in a 355-page book, "Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration."

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