2nd chances? It’s the 3rd, 4th and 5th that are the problem

Some columns hit home for many readers and lead to many unanswered questions and unresolved issues.

My last column “Prisons? They're out here, not in there,” brought comments from both sides of the spectrum — victims of crime and administrators who oversee prison reentry programs.

The column debunked the idea that because statistics show crime is down, that prisons had to be closed. As an editor who is bombarded with arrests and court resolutions, it just didn’t ring true.

No reader who contacted me about the column disagreed that criminals are running loose on the streets; that police can be overwhelmed with cases and that crimes not involving shootings or violence are no longer significant enough to use manpower.

Giving criminals a second chance and revamping the juvenile justice system is the new way of fighting crime. Science has entered the picture, informing us that teens don't have a grip on the consequences of their actions to bolster arguments that juvenile sentencing be revamped.

Of course, that science does leave many wondering how the rest of us managed to mature and deal with life without robbing, stealing and hurting others.

But I have no problem with giving people a second chance and believe people should be afforded that opportunity. What good would we be as human beings if we didn’t have the capacity to forgive and give people a chance to put a poor decision behind them?

We’ve all made poor decisions, we’ve all had bad moments, we all have regrets and we have all done something stupid — particularly if you are a guy. Sorry guys, but we men just do stupid things. Maybe it’s the wiring. So, I think we’ve all had a handshake with regret that have let us put the past behind us and prove mistakes can be overcome.

Second chances are needed and I will go to bat for that every time.

But it is the third, fourth and fifth and beyond chances that are the problem.

I live in Bridgeport, a city run by a mayor who was given a second chance after being thrown behind bars — and a state representative who has also been let out of prison. Both were sent there for corruption. Both have touted the need to give people another chance. And in Bridgeport, we have many residents who need a second chance.

As a recent victim of crime, I am really curious how all these second chances is going to play out.

Because what we are really talking about in a lot of cases is not a second chance — but a third, fourth and fifth chance.

And that brings me to the purpose of this column, which is a precursor to two upcoming columns I am working on due to reader feedback: one about prison reentry programs and how effective they are — and another about victims of crime, who have had to weather the damage left behind by the people we put behind bars.

While criminals have paid their debt to society, very few have ever repaid their debt to the people they wronged. And in too many cases — at least for the victims — their crimes are treated like a spill that can be wiped clean with a paper towel.

Hopefully, I will be able to convey the feelings of the people who got a second chance and how getting it changed their lives, for the better and hopefully, forever. I know many of us have had to put the past behind us.

But I have always been on the side of the victims — and always will be. That could be because I became one at such a young age. And what is lost on society in this push to give criminals a second chance and move them back into mainstream society is that victims go through reentry, too.

I believe in redemption but I also believe in victims, too. Second chances? Absolutely. It’s the third, fourth and fifth and beyond chances that are the problem.