Sanctions Against Released Inmates (Essay Sample)

Sanctions Against Released Inmates Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Sanctions Against Released Inmates In society, various factors might contribute to an imbalance of power, and regularly, legal, ethical and political implications arise. Individuals greatly affected by social inequalities caused by the imbalance of power are prisoners during their re-entry into society. They usually face numerous social challenges that inhibit their life back in the community. This paper will investigate the various implications of inequalities prisoners face during their re-entry into society after their release. It is estimated that about 600,000 individuals are usually released from prisons yearly, whereby they receive negligible preparation and inadequate resources, making re-entry into society significantly challenging. It is noted that individuals with a criminal conviction have limited employment prospects, access to social services and public housing assistance (Li, 2018). Also, socioeconomic elements play a critical part in determining effective re-entry outcomes. It is identified that there is an imbalance of power for previously convicted individuals trying to secure employment after their release, whereby a minor criminal record might encounter substantial barriers in securing employment. Released prisoners have challenges securing and maintaining work as employers are frequently reluctant to hire individuals with criminal records. For instance, employers might refrain from hiring individuals with a criminal record of burglary since they would fear being robbed by such individuals. Due to the stigma of incarceration and lack of employment history, there are typically limited employment opportunities. Moreover, released prisoners are disadvantaged socially, economically and educationally (Li, 2018). Released prisoners are usually at risk of being homeless or being re-arrested in the first month after release. A strategy towards reducing recidivism and assisting re-entry of released prisoners is offering adult education, career and technical education and initiating re-entry programs. Notably, there are various implications regarding the imbalance of power associated with re-entry of released prisoners into society. The various implications include ethical, legal and political implications. The unsuccessful re-entry of released prisoners might have ethical implications whereby one is denied federally funded public assistance and food stamps. Despite one being reformed, it would be unethical to deny a person who has limited resources the much-needed assistance to enable them to transition back to society. Additionally, denial of stable housing might present legal implications whereby released prisoners might be re-arrested, posing a significant strain on the judicial and correction facilities (Li, 2018). Lastly, there would be political implications where states permit employers to deny work to individuals arrested but never convicted of a crime. This would present political criticism of the administrations of the various states that support this policy. Markedly, the corona pandemic caused numerous challenges, especially for prisoners. The spread of the virus significantly increased in confined spaces, presenting a great challenge for prisoners in prison, resulting in the initiation of early release of prisoners. However, the release of prisoners during the pandemic presented numerous challenges. During the COVID-19 crisis, the social inequality evident was the lack of the needed personal protective equipment and complementing supplies that would enable personnel to assist in appropriately re-entering released prisoners. It was identified that the various service providers required gloves, masks, toiletries, and food supplies in order to operate safely (Mallin & Barr, 2020). Additionally, there was an accelerated release rate of prisoners who were to go to halfway houses to reduce congestion in prisons, where they were identified as a spreading ground for the coronavirus. There was a severe imbalance of power for the re-entry of the released prisoners, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as there was limited allocation of resources for addressing the needs of the released prisoners. Due to insufficient resource allocation, a released prisoner was forced to the confines of the halfway house, where it was compared similarly to being incarcerated. Parole officers and other workers faced significant challenges in carrying out their duties as there was a temporal suspension of in-person check-in due to the implementation of social distancing protocols (Mallin & Barr, 2020). Furthermore, due to slowed economic activities, there were reduced private donations despite the continued admittance of former prisoners. Similarly, these conditions presented diverse ethical, political and legal implications. A political implication would be that the increased in...