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PACEs in the Criminal Justice System

Discussion and sharing of resources in working with clients involved in the criminal justice system and how screening for and treating ACEs will lead to successful re-entry of prisoners into the community and reduced recidivism for former offenders.

Paying (and Paying and Paying) a Debt to Society [TheAtlantic.com]

 

Last week, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued a ruling that sent a small shockwave through the criminal-justice world. Rather than sentencing a woman who had been convicted of smuggling more than a pound of cocaine into the United States to a few years in prison, Judge Frederic Block opted for extraordinary leniency and gave her probation. Block’s rationale was simple enough: The “collateral consequences” of being a convicted felon are punishment enough.

Quoting experts on American incarceration, Block laid out how having a conviction (or even a minor brush with the law) on one’s record often makes it difficult to secure housing, public assistance, and a good education. “Remarkably, there are nationwide nearly 50,000 federal and state statutes and regulations that impose penalties, disabilities, or disadvantages on convicted felons,” hewrote in the 42-page opinion.



[For more of this story, written by Adam Chandler, go to http://www.theatlantic.com/bus...incarcerated/484919/]

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