John Irwin The Jail Analysis

For most people, the idea slavery and the loss of freedom, along with basic human rights, ended with the abolishment of slavery and the following civil rights movement. However, authors John Irwin and Michelle Alexander bring light to the startling present day horrors that convicted criminals face as they journey through America’s jail system. It appears that criminals no longer are simply punished for the duration of their sentence, but for the rest of their lives as well. In, “The Jail,” John Irwin describes what it is like for a criminal to initially be arrested and further processed into a prison. It is at this time that a person first experiences a complete loss of freedom. Before, they had choices and could do as they wished with their lives, whether it be positive or negative. Once under arrested, these people have arguably less rights than slaves did hundreds of years prior. They have to be told when to sit, stand, where to walk, and when they can eat. I do not want to be misunderstand and say that this is always a bad thing. These measures are sometimes necessary in order to control and manage people who have not been able to abide by society’s laws. In addition, to losing their basic
freedoms, Irwin explains how daunting the prison environment can be. It is nothing like normal society. They are immediately sized up and likely exploited by the more experienced inmates. On the bright side, an inmate may be able to get a job in order to make some money when he/she is released! Unfortunately, their pay is usually under three dollars an hour, and is garnished by a multitude of expenses for being in prison, leading to no actual income. Without any sort of basic rights, freedoms, or even humane treatment, it is no wonder that there is a high re-incarnation rate for released criminals. While Irwin is able to describe the environmental impact on a criminal and how they are affected on release, Alexander’s view shows the legal hardships a released criminal will face and how it becomes nearly insurmountable without outside help. As a now former criminal is released back into society, it would appear that the debt for their crime has been paid off and their lives can be reconciled. Unfortunately, this is an entirely false notion that is difficult to understand for someone that has not studied nor been apart of the American prison system. The two most prominent arguments that Alexander makes regarding the release of a convicted criminal into society are the difficulties surrounding housing and employment. Without the help of a friend or relative, someone leaving prison will have no place to live. At this time, the released prisoner will be forced to either live homeless, or search for public help offered by the government. Unfortunately, public housing completely excludes criminals from receiving any sort of aid. No matter their crime, the sentence, or the duration of time that has passed since, they can be turned down from public housing due to a criminal record. The obvious solution would be for someone to get a job and rent their own apartment in order to avoid the whole public housing fiasco altogether.
The issue here is that employers will often discriminate, against former criminals during the hiring process. It is almost impossible to even get an interview if someone has to indicate that they have a criminal record on a job application. To make matters worse, a released criminal will be hit with a bevy of fines and payments that need to be made to the state ranging from public defender fees to expenses incurred in prison. As if living on minimum wage, without government help, and with little to no job security wasn’t hard enough, these fines make it nearly impossible for people to support
themselves. With the government restricting their housing, employment, and chasing them down for money, it cannot be a surprise that released criminals often return to illegal activities in order to provide for themselves. Our judicial system is legally exiling former criminals from present society and stripping them of their basic rights. Criminal activity will never be justified, but as a country that guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to everyone, former criminals need a chance to redeem themselves, without the government working against them.