Hiring former prisoners strengthens state

Finding a job in today’s economy is not easy — and it is almost impossible if you are an ex-con. Once released from prison, many offenders struggle to find work and join a plethora of former inmates struggling to readjust in a society that isn’t so forgiv

Finding a job in today’s economy is not easy — and it is almost impossible if you are an ex-con.

Every year, about 600,000 men and women are released from state and federal prisons across the nation and, within a year, about 60 percent are arrested again.

Here in Connecticut, more than 12,000 men and women are released from prison annually and the most recent study found that within five years of their release, 79 percent were re-arrested, 69 percent were convicted of a new crime, and 50 percent were returned to prison with a new sentence.

A February 2012 study by the State Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division of the Office of Policy and Management cited drugs, alcohol and violation of probation as the biggest culprits.

Lack of support, opportunities, education and skills compound the problem.

Deirdre Daly, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, noted the numbers are “not sustainable from any perspective you want to look at it.”

It’s easy to reduce recidivism to ex-offenders simply determined not to walk the straight and narrow.

But experts say “lack of employment plays a big part.”

Business leaders and the judicial system are taking notice.

A recent panel discussion held for employers at Gateway Community College took a look at second-chance opportunities for convicts.

Called “Hire One: Give Someone with a Criminal Record a Second Chance,” the event was held by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Connecticut.

It not only was an opportunity for employers in the private sector to hear about the work being done by law enforcement to help former offenders re-enter society, but also was an opportunity for them to hear from fellow employers that had hired people previously incarcerated.

Patrick Mortley, 53, is an ex-offender who spoke at the event. He was hired as a safety officer on the New Haven Green. “It’s uplifting,” he said, adding he has left prison for the final time.

But even with a job, he said his biggest fear is that someone will throw out a job application because he is a former offender.

“I still fear that question,” Mortley said prior to taking the stage. “It’s a stigmatization that can run you back to jail.”

More than 70 million Americans have a criminal record. One study shows up to 30 percent are less likely to find a job when they get out and the U.S. economy misses out on an estimated $60 billion annually due to the loss of labor.

Under former President Barack Obama, some of the nation’s biggest corporations — including Facebook, Starbucks, Google and American Airlines — signed on to give ex-offenders an even playing field in the job market under an initiative called the Fair Chance Business Pledge.

The recognition is there, steps have been taken, but more is needed.

Glenn E. Martin, a vice president at the Fortune Society, a New York-based organization that helps formerly incarcerated people and their families, said most inmates “are very energized” when released from prison and eager to do the right thing. But they run up against “lifetime consequences.”

Whatever crime a former offender may have committed, according to the rules by which we live, they have paid their debt to society.

Not only do they deserve a second chance to seeks a different path, they also deserve not to have the stigma of their past actions follow them the rest of their lives.

We urge businesses to hire an ex-offender today not only to give them a second chance, but also to solidify families, revitalize communities and strengthen the state.