Hiring Formerly Incarcerated People Is Good, Actually
Date:  09-16-2022

Some conservative media outlets and politicians lambast the practice. But if you care about public safety, that opposition doesn't make sense.
From Reason:

"Americans from across the political spectrum can unite around prison reform legislation that will reduce crime while giving our fellow citizens a chance at redemption," former President Donald Trump said in November 2018. "So if something happens and they make a mistake, they get a second chance at life."

A month later, Trump signed the First Step Act—one of his signature pieces of legislation, which gave second chances to many people with criminal records. It was a good bill that every Republican in the House voted for, save two. However, now conservatives—including supporters of Trump's signature criminal justice reform bill—are claiming that it's wrong to hire former criminals.

"Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney has history of employing convicts," the New York Post wrote on September 3. In the story, we learn that Maloney has reportedly paid two people with criminal records: Theodore Bickley, who served six years after he was found with $900 in counterfeit cash, and Jonathan Alvarez, who served 12 years for manslaughter. Continue reading >>>