This is real! (crime, house, school)

[OldSchool53]

I know it may sound like a plot line for a movie, but 99% of all life prisioners in California do a very long time. What trade you were able to obtain is related to where you were able to do your time. most life prisoners are in higher level institutions without many programs offered. and if they are, more often then not the prison is locked down most of the time. As for the parole dept. geting you a job when you get out, that is just plain crap!

[bayarea-girl]

So, what is the point of this thread?

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

So, what is the point of this thread?

Heh, heh! Exactly my same thought!

The joy of typing?

[phloxy]

The original poster was inquiring about job leads in another thread and what options exist for those with a record. I think this is a continuation of that thread. Maybe he or she will repost that info.

It's true that you basically leave with your gate money and that's it (and it's usually not much). There isn't a job waiting or provided after release from prison.

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by OldSchool53

I know it may sound like a plot line for a movie, but 99% of all life prisioners in California do a very long time. What trade you were able to obtain is related to where you were able to do your time. most life prisoners are in higher level institutions without many programs offered. and if they are, more often then not the prison is locked down most of the time. As for the parole dept. geting you a job when you get out, that is just plain crap!

If a prisoner is convicted and given a life sentence that prisoner must have done something very sinister, very stupid, very unforgiveable, or all of the above. Without knowing the background circumstances/crime, I am going to default to my position in such cases by saying, "So?"

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by phloxy

The original poster was inquiring about job leads in another thread and what options exist for those with a record. I think this is a continuation of that thread.

That's a novel idea. Continue a thread in a different thread. What a concept!


Um... I'm pretty sure that most of us C-D members have never seen the inside of a prison. Myself, I've been in a jail only once, and that was on LAPD's open house day, where I was a visitor!

Maybe the OP should post this on Prison-Data.com ?

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by OldSchool53

I know it may sound like a plot line for a movie, but 99% of all life prisioners in California do a very long time. What trade you were able to obtain is related to where you were able to do your time. most life prisoners are in higher level institutions without many programs offered. and if they are, more often then not the prison is locked down most of the time. As for the parole dept. geting you a job when you get out, that is just plain crap!

I feel your pain, man! The parole department isn't out getting me a job either!

[misplaced1]

If the OP is getting at what I think he is, there is a very good arguement for rehabilitation, training and assistance getting back into mainstream society. What does someone do if they are broke, have a record and can't house or feed themselves? Yeah, end up back in jail an aweful lot of the time.

If we as a society are going to imprison people and then release them back into a society they haven't seen for years, we might want to make sure they are prepared if we expect any level of success. I agree the individual is responsible for the action that placed them there but we all live out here in society so I say we have a stake in it.

[phloxy]

Perhaps the original poster isn't as familiar with forums and couldn't find the original thread. It happens.

During my most recent batch of college classes, I became friends with a guy who did significant time for second-degree murder. He was in the same major I had chosen. We were both nontraditional students, so we compared notes about working full time and going to school part time. It's easy to slap a label on every person who's ever gone to prison, but after getting to know this man, I can only conclude that the stereotypes don't always fit, the stigma isn't always on target, and there are gray areas in almost every area of human behavior. Does that bring back the person who died? No. Does that make his actions excusable? No. But he was contributing more to society at that time than I was and was going to school to better himself and improve his standing in life and increase what he could give to others.

Getting to know him gave me a lot to think about with respect to crime and its causes and punishment and the stereotypes and stigma that the rest of society, myself included, have for different groups of people. Had he chosen not to self-disclose about his past, I don't think anyone who met him would have ever known what happened. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post, but that is my experience. I still think about this classmate to this day, and pretty frequently, because getting to know him brought to light on a lot of things that I hadn't thought much about until that time.

On edit: I agree strongly with misplaced1's comments.

[Twinkle Toes]

I agree with Misplaced too. We train our kids to be able to go out into society and get a job. In a way, someone who has been in prison for several years is like a kid. They need to be trained how to go out into the world and be able to support themselves.