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A comment on Study: All non-violent criminals jailed on minor drug offence should be released. Parent comment

Re:Study: All non-violent criminals jailed on minor drug off... by unethical_ban on Monday January 11, 2021 @12:44PM (#25732624)
I disagree with you to some extent, in that the world is shades of gray, and indeed, it is naive to think that either "someone is so dangerous we should deprive them of all liberty" or "despite past activities, we are so confident in their rehabilitation that no caution should be taken in their release to society".

You do make an interesting suggestion that, if we do put a scarlet letter on someone for a past crime for which they are deemed "safe" enough to be in the public, that they should be compensated for that in some way. Shit, look at the movie "Heat" for one of many examples. If someone is trying to get their life together but can't find decent work on parole, or is abused and looked at as a criminal despite paying their debt, what motive might someone have to stay out of a past life?

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Re:Study: All non-violent criminals jailed on minor drug off... by mmmBacon on Monday January 11, 2021 @01:45PM (#25733931)
I used to feel that the stigma should follow you but I’ve changed my mind because I do not believe that stigma works, is overly punitive, and forces people back into crime.

Now I believe that if you pay your debt to society, you should be square with the house and your punishment should stop including any ex-judicial punishment like denying people work they are otherwise qualified for. I think reasonable exceptions can be made for sensitive jobs involving money handling or children.

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Re:Study: All non-violent criminals jailed on minor drug off... by nicoburns on Monday January 11, 2021 @02:02PM (#25734322)
Here in UK I believe criminal records have a time limit, after which your crime is expunged from the record at leadt as far as employers, etc are concerned. The length of the limit will depend on the crime and may not apply at all the very serious crimes. But it means that there's much much less active discrimination against ex-convicts than I hear about in th US.
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