Prisoner Reentry and Social Capital: The Long Road to Reintegration

Angela J. Hattery; Earl Smith

doi:10.5771/9780739143902

Summary

If you do the crime you gotta do the time.' This adage reflects the overall attitude most Americans have about crime and the criminal justice system. Implicit in this adage is the notion that once 'the time' is done, the individual is free to re-enter society and resume a normal life. In Prisoner Re-entry and Social Capital, authors Earl Smith and Angela J. Hattery challenge this myth. Prisoner Re-entry and Social Capital takes as its starting point interviews with twenty-five men and women during the summer of 2008 about their experiences with re-entering the 'free world' after a period of incarceration. By analyzing the experiences of these men and women, Smith and Hattery look in depth at the factors that inhibit successful re-entry and illustrate some successes and failures. The book examines individual characteristics that inhibit successful re-entry such as addiction and sex offender status as well as the unique challenges faced by women. Uniquely, Smith and Hattery focus on the role that social capital plays as one of the most important factors that shapes the re-entry experience. Today, one of the most pressing issues facing scholars, those who work in the criminal justice system, and the citizenry as a whole is the extraordinarily high rate of recidivism. These interviews and analyses provide a deeper and more precise understanding of the biases faced by re-entry felons in the labor market and work to address the key barriers to re-entry in hopes to aid in their elimination.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2010
Copyright Year: 2010
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7391-4389-6
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7391-4390-2
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 160
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Issue No access Pages 1 - 12
Chapter 2: Barriers to Reentry and Increased Recidivism No access Pages 13 - 26
Chapter 3: The Role of Addiction No access Pages 27 - 46
Chapter 4: The Role of Sexual Abuse in Childhood No access Pages 47 - 64
Chapter 5: The Special Case of Women No access Pages 65 - 86
Chapter 6: The Impact of Social Capital on Reentry No access Pages 87 - 102
Chapter 7: The Special Case of Exonerees No access Pages 103 - 130
Chapter 8: Where Do We Go from Here? Policy Implications No access Pages 131 - 146
References No access Pages 147 - 154
Index No access Pages 155 - 158
About the Authors No access Pages 159 - 160