Collateral Consequences of Incarceration in a Disadvantageous Setting

• In Event: Race, Social Structure, and Collateral Consequences

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial researchers’ interest in the civil deprivations associated with incarceration in the Global-North. Imprisonment is associated with civil and legal implications post-prison, which limits individuals’ opportunities for employment and loss of some civil and political rights. In jurisdictions such as continental-Europe and North America, there is a substantial body of literature on collateral consequences [CC]. However, even though formerly incarcerated persons [FIP] in the Global-South, face similar (sometimes harsher) implications for serving a term-of-imprisonment, the concept of CC continues to be underdeveloped, with little to no attention given to it in national discourse and policies. As a result, CC manifests in formal and informal forms, used by ‘law-abiding-citizens’ to perpetuate discrimination and disempower FIP, which could have implications on community re-entry. This study reviews the existing policies and legislations on CC in Ghana and gives a voice to FIP to share their experiences securing legal employment post-prison. The findings are discussed with the extant literature to suggest how this could partly contribute to the cycle of re-imprisonment. We highlighted the need for a structured policy on CC stipulating conditions for expungement and how people can be reintegrated into their communities post-prison.

Authors

• Rita Adjoa Blaba, Ghana Bar Association

• Frank Darkwa Baffour, The University of Newcastle