Coming Back to What? Prisoner Reentry and Marginality

• In Event: The Politics of Crime, Marginality, and Policing

Abstract

Felony convictions in the United States limit individual rights and can having lasting impacts well beyond the prison walls. Mass incarceration in America has now led to the exponential growth of prisoner reentry. Over 650,000 men and women are released annually back into communities across the nation. These individuals must now face the daunting task of navigating and negotiating their reentry process. Many scholars have examined the roles of employment, however, far fewer studies have explored the ways in which mobility is limited based on one’s criminal charge (e.g. offense) and status (e.g. parole). This paper looks to understand through ethnographic and in-depth interviews with recently released men and women how they understand their mobility and marginality in spite of reentry. The findings in this research illuminate the tedious and contradictory policies and sanctions of the reentry process, which in turn reproduce the carceral continuum.

Author

• CalvinJohn Smiley, CUNY Hunter College