A multitude of stereotypes and ‘collateral consequences’ follow felons in America for a lifetime. Collateral consequences “refer to the statutory restrictions imposed by state and federal legislative bodies on a criminally convicted person’s rights,” (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2016). These restrictions cover a wide span of territory that affect “a convicted person’s employment and business opportunities, deny access to government benefits and program participation, including student loans, housing, contracting and other forms of participation in civic life,” such as the right to vote (Berson, 2013). These consequences disproportionally affect the African American population more than any other group in the country. Unfortunately, this population has had these rights stripped away numerous times in the past, and new ways to perpetuate this trend continue to appear. The state utilizes mass incarceration to strip rights away from this population. African Americans currently occupy this country’s prison population more than the overall population, meaning that the loss of these rights affect them more severely. The collateral consequences following African Americans affected by the prison system cause the recidivism rates to continually increase, creating the revolving door in our criminal justice system for this disadvantaged population.

      We can track the concepts of disenfranchisement and loss of these civil rights all the way back to “ancient Greece, where a similar practice existed: atimia or ‘dishonor,’” (Hamilton-Smith & Vogel, 2012). This practice then served as the basis for “medieval European practices of outlawry and civil death. Civil death was like atimia in that the individual affected by it was stripped of his or her civil rights,” (Hamilton-Smith & Vogel, 2012). Civil death meant that the person affected became banned from society and lost all of their rights, such as the right to participate in the democracy. It was also common for society to cast them out of the city or town as well.

      The practice of denying rights to individuals continued in a post-Civil War United States, even after the passing of the Reconstruction Amendments. People have criticized these amendments, especially the Thirteenth Amendment, due to the fact that they perpetuate a continued form of slavery. Students learn that the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, but the actual wording of the amendment states that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States,” (U.S. const. amend. XIII). This wording allows slavery to continue as a form of punishment, leading to the mass incarceration of African Americans post-Civil War. Other rights presented through the new amendments also became systematically stripped from African Americans in numerous ways. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment protecting African American male’s right to vote, society still found ways to make sure they could systematically deny them the opportunity to vote. They achieved this through actions such as the poll tax, literacy tests, grandfather clause, and much more. Not only did African American males have the opportunity to vote denied through different means, but southern states enacted a series of Black Codes as a way to “control and limit the newly freed slaves’ right to be free from human bondage,” (Weatherspoon, 2007). These codes meant that the system more harshly sentenced African Americans, prohibited them from voting, denied them educational opportunities, restricted their travel, and so much more (Weatherspoon, 2007). These harsher sentences kept African Americans locked away for longer, allowing the system to use them for labor, keeping them out of positions of power. If the community kept African Americans locked up, deprived of their right to vote, and denied access to equal education, then the majority white society could easily perpetuate their positions of power.

      Vagrancy laws also appeared around the same time as the Black Codes, making it a “criminal offense not to work” and police selectively applied these laws towards the African American population (Alexander, 2010). If they could not gain employment, police would then toss them into jail and use them for free labor again. These codes all added up to make it nearly impossible for this population to live in this society. Not only did society make it difficult for African Americans to vote and to enact the much needed changes, but the laws of society kept them from getting a decent education which then worked to keep them from obtaining a decent job at all. On top of preventing the black population from making a living, society criminalized unemployment. This began the trend of disproportionate populations of African Americans in prison, creating the conditions for a system of de facto slavery to form. Once they left prison, the loss of rights became compounded, creating this cycle that led to the mass incarceration of African Americans today.

      Currently, the Justice Department expects that “one in three young African American men will serve time in prison” at some point in their lifetime (Alexander, 2010). One third of these men will also most likely lose the right to vote and have to bear the collateral consequences that come along with the label of a criminal. The system then begins to look similar to that of the Reconstruction Era South. Overall, in 2007, African Americans made up approximately 40% of the federal prison population (Weatherspoon, 2007). Considering that African Americans only constitute about 14% of the US population, the fact that they make up such a large portion of the prison population should raise red flags; however, most people brush off these statistics and come up with excuses to justify the behavior of mass incarceration. Often times, people present the War on Drugs as the reason for the disproportionate incarceration of African American men. The “War on Drugs” was officially declared by President Richard Nixon in 1971 where he claimed “illegal drugs ‘public enemy number one’” and since it has contributed to a wide variety of new statutes and law enforcement tactics cracking down on the use of drugs, primarily in low-income communities of color (Alexander, 2010). As stated by Andrea Ritchie, this war has come to refer to:

      police practices that involve stopping and searching people who fit the ‘profile’ of drug users or couriers on the nation’s             highways, buses, trains, and planes; saturation of particular neighborhoods...with law enforcement officers charged with             finding drugs in any quantity through widespread ‘stop and frisk’ activities; no-knock warrants, surveillance, undercover           operations, and highly militarized drug raids conducted by SWAT teams. It also includes harsh mandatory minimum                   sentences for drug convictions. (Ritchie, 2017)

These policies and tactics have led to the increase of mass incarceration for African Americans in the United States. The War on Drugs began in the 1970’s and, to this day, resembles a “present-day Black Code that results in African American males being targeted and sentenced,” (Weatherspoon, 2007). Society saw the policies that came out of the War on Drugs as a way to protect everyone and did not view the laws as outright discriminatory on the surface; however, in 2000, seven states had “African Americans constitute 80 to 90 percent of all drug offenders sent to prison,” (Alexander, 2010). Similar to the idea of the vagrancy laws, the policies that come out of this era seems to affect the African American population more than any other group of people. The discrepancy between the sentencing of crack and cocaine that changed during this time contribute to these discriminatory results. Even though crack and cocaine have similar components, crack has become more prominent in black communities while white communities predominantly use cocaine. The law put into place made possession of five grams of crack a minimum sentence of five years, while it took 500 grams of powder cocaine to reach the same sentence. This led to more African Americans locked up for crimes that law enforcement seemed to ignore in the white communities. While President Obama managed to reduce this disparity, it still had a major impact on the African American community. Obama made many efforts throughout his terms to reduce the effect of the War on Drugs and to treat drug abuse as a public health issue instead of a criminal justice one. Even though state laws have attempted more consistent sentencing, regardless of race, African American offenders still serve more time than whites for rape and violent offenses (Weatherspoon, 2007). The statistics of those sentenced to the death penalty showcase these ideas; according to the Death Penalty Information Center statistics, “jurors in Washington State are three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case,” (2018). The odds of a black defendant getting the death sentence increases even more when the victim is white: “in Louisiana, the odds of a death sentence were 97% higher for those whose victim was white than for those whose victim was black,” (Death Penalty Information Center [DPIC], 2018). It becomes increasingly difficult to streamline the process of sentencing when human bias affects it so strongly.  The increased arrests and longer sentencing affects the population as a whole as these men and women try to reintegrate back into society. The loss of rights when leaving prison cause extreme difficulty to reintegrate smoothly; eventually, many will end up back in prison after recidivating.

      The collateral consequences of going to prison and carrying the label of a felon all work together to create a problematic time for them to reintegrate back into society. As discussed, the prison system heavily impacts African Americans more than any other group, meaning that these consequences then also have the same effect. The general population tends to overlook the loss of the right to vote, forever or for an extended period of time, as a collateral consequence. Society has disenfranchised African Americans in the past through the use of poll taxes, the grandfather clause, and property ownership requirements, but we have since outlawed those provisions (Weatherspoon, 2007). However, disenfranchisement of felons persists, still impacting the African American community. Due to the high volume of African Americans within our prison system, approximately “1.4 million African American males’ ability to vote in this country has been abridged temporarily or permanently,” (Weatherspoon, 2007). This affects some areas more heavily than others, such as Florida, where “nearly 1 in every 4 African Americans is disenfranchised from voting in every election,” (Walker et al, 2016). This includes something as small as the local school board all the way up to the presidency. In other countries, such as Germany, people actually encourage ex-felons to vote. Nowhere else uses disenfranchisement laws as severe as the United States, because they seek to help rehabilitate ex-felons back into society (Alexander, 2010). The idea of letting felons vote scares most people in the United States because they fear that someone who has committed crimes in the past would vote in favor of loosening our criminal justice system, however, research has proved this fear unfounded. These facts do not dispel the beliefs and calm the fear held by US citizens, causing the laws to stay in place. Some states have slowly begun to modify their “disenfranchisement statutes to ensure that all their citizens have the opportunity to vote, as guaranteed by the Constitution,” but “states that have established procedures to re-enfranchise ex-felons have made the process highly complicated or too costly for ex-felons to pursue,” (Weatherspoon, 2007). Even when laws change, those affected cannot attain the ways around the statue. These laws serve as a way to ensure that ex-felons, especially African Americans, do not have a voice or a say in their society, thus rendering them politically weak.

      The increased difficulty to find stable employment, education, and housing works as another result of consequences for labeling people. People leaving prison already find it difficult to seek out a job with the stigma of having to check the box stating that they have committed a felony. That fact alone turns off employers and makes it harder to get work. This process works in conjunction with prejudice and negative racial stereotypes; while employers cannot and should not discriminate based on race, it still occurs and employers cover it up with other excuses. Compounded, race and the felony make it nearly impossible to get employment. As Michelle Alexander states, “black men convicted of felonies are the least likely to receive job offers of any demographic group,” (2010). Many studies and research have proven this fact. One study showed that “white applicants with a criminal record were more likely to receive job callbacks than were African-American applicants who did not have a criminal record,” (Walker et al, 2016). If a white felon can beat out a black applicant who has never seen the inside of a cell, one can only imagine how difficult a black felon would find seeking out employment.

      When someone coming out of prison cannot find stable, well-paying jobs it becomes a snowball effect of consequences that leads back to recidivating. Not having the ability to get a decent job means that it becomes harder to access any form of higher education due to the costs. The inability to receive loans works as another collateral consequence. Many students often rely on loans to go to school and the inability to attain one strikes out that opportunity almost immediately. Even if they can get a loan, a college has the choice to not accept someone who states that they have committed a felony. If the ex-felon could get an education it might help with possibility of getting a well-paying job.

      Additionally, if someone cannot pay to live on their own, they will end up back with family, if they even have that option. In the case of an African American felon, if one in three African American men will serve time in prison, the possibility that one of their relatives has also experienced prison increases. One of the conditions of parole often states that the parolee cannot associate with any known felons. If that person cannot secure stable employment and housing, ending up back at home, they cannot control it. They might have to live with someone else considered a felon. Breaking conditions of parole may end with someone back in jail or prison as well. This cycle continues and contributes to the concept of the revolving door of the criminal justice system; again, a common issue within the African American community.

      The revolving door of the criminal justice system refers to the high rates of recidivism that occur within the community. People leave prison, cannot secure employment and housing, end up committing more crimes, and end right back up in the system. The African American community presents this phenomenon as well. As Weatherspoon states, “the recidivism rate for African-American males released from prison is extremely high,” (2007). The collateral consequences that the ex-felons trying to reintegrate back into society have to deal with cause the high recidivism rates. Due to the policies that “prohibit the employment of individuals with criminal records and the education system [that] fails to train and educate African American males, they often return to prison,” (Weatherspoon, 2007). The few opportunities to find a job and a lack of education to assist African Americans to obtain employment, mean that many have to resort back to a life of crime in order to provide for themselves or their family. That result does not necessarily occur due to a lack of trying to reintegrate back into society, but due to the unfair system stacked against African Americans. Either way, it becomes common to see African American ex-felons reoffend and end back up in the system.

      The revolving door of the criminal justice system continues to grow with the concept of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’ Society does not take the label of a criminal lightly. The stigma follows ex-felons around for life and prevents them from properly reintegrating into society. This label may have come from a ill-advised mistake someone made as a teenager, but society does not care about the nuances of how someone became a criminal, just that they carry the title of one. The label of a criminal “trumps all other labels that society ascribes because it brands the ex-felon as  ‘generally rather than specifically deviant,’” (Hamilton-Smith & Vogel, 2012). This then turns into that self-fulfilling prophecy when the “individual is labeled as a criminal or deviant and internalizes that label. The label itself serves as the mechanism by which the demonized behavior is elicited,” (Hamilton-Smith & Vogel, 2012). Once society views people as nothing more than a criminal, no matter what they do to prove them wrong, they then start to believe it themselves and just follow their label. It almost seems worthless to fight against the label when everyone else believes it. This concept affects the African American community, not only because of the disproportionate amount of the community in prison, but because a lot of society views African Americans as dangerous criminals in the first place. This false idea gets spread around and it creates both conscious and unconscious bias throughout society, causing them to project this belief onto the African American community. For African Americans growing up, they can become extremely frustrated seeing this belief and having to constantly fight against that unwarranted stigma put onto their community. This can then lead African Americans to fall into that self-fulfilling prophecy and turn to a life of crime because society expects nothing else of them. They then fall into the vicious cycle that plagues their community of going to prison, getting out and not reintegrating due to collateral consequences, recidivating, and going back to prison. The revolving door of the criminal justice system just then continues on until society begins to make changes.

      In conclusion, mass incarceration of the African American community has plagued our society since the dark founding of our country. Disenfranchisement has disproportionately affected African Americans throughout the years. Once slavery ended and the Fifteenth Amendment gave African American men the right to vote, society created other rules and regulations in order to disenfranchise the community yet again. On top of that, the creation of the Black Codes prevented them from succeeding in society at all. Law enforcement used these new laws and regulations to begin tossing African Americans into prison and filling up the cells. These events now make up the history books, but the ideas of the codes still exist today. African Americans disproportionately make up a large portion of the prison system population, making them the group most heavily affected by the disenfranchisement and collateral consequences thrown onto felons as a whole. The inability to vote, to find a job, to gain education, to find housing, to get a loan, and so much more contributes to the difficulties that African American felons face when trying to reintegrate into society. When they cannot become successful, the felons then contribute to the high rates of recidivism within the community and get sent back to prison. This creates the cycle known as the revolving door of the criminal justice system and showcases how it affects African American communities more than other communities as a whole. We must begin to revise these laws and regulations put onto felons and advocate for the political and civil rights of ex-felons, particularly from the African American community. Only then can we begin to integrate felons back into society and begin to empty out our prisons.

 

 

 

 

References

Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New

York: New Press.

 

Berson, S.B. (2013). Beyond the sentence-understanding collateral consequences. National

Institute of Justice Journal, 272, 25-28.

 

Death Penalty Information Center. (2018). Facts about the Death Penalty.

 

Hamilton-Smith, G.P., & Vogel, M. (2012). The violence of voicelessness: The impact of felony

disenfranchisement on recidivism. Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, 22, 407.

 

Ritchie, A. J. (2017). Invisible no more: Police violence against black women and women of

color. Boston: Beacon Press.

 

U.S const. amend. XIII.

 

Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2016). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in

America. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.

 

Weatherspoon, F.D. (2007). The mass incarceration of African-American males: A return to

institutionalized slavery, oppression, and disenfranchisement of constitutional rights.

Texas Wesleyan Law Review, 13, 599.