People mess up. They do bad things sometimes. The unlucky few that get caught, if that bad thing is bad enough, get sent to jail or prison. But a lot of these people that mess up and commit a crime are people just like you and I, and they deserve to be treated that way. There are over 2 million people in lockup right now. 2 million US citizens behind bars who when they are released back into the real world will have to where to go, no one to turn to and no services to lean on. Because we as a country have deemed them “unworthy” of public services such as welfare, food stamps, and even getting a job. They aren’t even given back the basic right to vote or to get a drivers license. They are stripped of their voice and of their ability to survive in society (Jones, Sabrina).

But who are we (the citizens on the outside) to decide who is “worthy” of our help? How can we make that distinction? Most people who end up in prison end up there because they had nowhere else to turn, so they did what they needed to do to survive. So it is not fare to judge someone by the crime they commit. Because not all people who break the law are criminals. I could honestly say that I know more bad people who aren’t locked up than I do who are. So how is it fair to deny people who just were released from lock up the resources they need to get back on their feet? How are they supposed to start again if no one gives them a hand? Because if we don’t give them a hand then they will result to what they know how to do, and most likely that will put them back behind bars.

So lets stop this. Stop the labeling, stop the exiling and stop the judgment. Everyone deserves another chance at life, and we as a government should support that chance, not take it away.

Reference: Prisoners of the War on Drugs   By Sabrina Jones, Ellen Miller-Mack & Lois Ahrens