As someone who has spent almost 9 years in prison I have mixed feelings about taking jobs out of the private sector and giving them to prison inmates. Most of the people at the prisons where I did time made between 24 cents and 42 cents an hour. There were some who made up to $1.20 an hour (that's big money in prison!). And there were a select few who were able to get jobs that paid minimum wage or more (really big money in prison!).
On the one hand, although many prison inmates have fines and restitution to pay off, all of their basic needs are paid for by the state. They get free housing, free clothing, free medical, and free food, and often even free education. On the outside, it is a struggle just to pay for those basic necessities, and there are many homeless, jobless people in society - who have no criminal record at all - who can't afford those basic necessities, and so they just go without (or maybe commit a crime just to get those basic necessities!).
But on the other hand, I know that the distinction between those on this side of the fence and those on the other side of the fence is far from clear. Take my probation officer, for example. In a recent post I told how she almost certainly committed a crime, probably a felony, that could have cost her job, her freedom, and maybe placed her in a position where she could be liable for a civil suit. (See my blog, Do What I Say, Not What I Do).
She is fortunate, because I am probably not going to try to press charges (and I doubt that would get me anywhere even if I tried. See my post, See Something, Say Something, and Is It Really OK to Tell?). But this does reinforce my belief that if every American were held up to the same standard as most convicts (the majority of whom are poor), the distinction between us and them would fade away.
So with this in mind, how should we look at a story like the one on Fox News today: American prison labor means longer unemployment lines? If you've never been to prison, maybe you think prisoners should just sit in their cells 24 hours a day and be fed bread and water. And if you have lived out your life without ever committing a crime, you probably have a right to believe that.
But for the rest of us - whether we have been caught and convicted of a crime, or like my probation officer, have just been fortunate enough to keep their crime hidden from the prosecuting attorney - we probably should be a little less judgmental about businesses that choose to hire convict laborers. As the saying goes, "There but for the grace of God go I." And Jesus says,
"Judge not, lest ye be judged." - Matthew 7:1
Recommended reading:
65 Million "Need Not Apply": The Case for Reforming Criminal Background Checks for Employment
