Consequences of Mass Incarceration
D.C. policy briefing discusses effects on jobs, voting rights, and children

Fall 2005, Volume 27, Number 1

	Jeff Manza talks about felon disenfranchisement.

Despite falling crime rates, two million Americans are locked up in prison, an increase of 500 percent over the past 30 years. Mandatory sentencing and the war on drugs have played a large part in this increase, with drug offenders five times more likely to be sentenced to prison—and receive sentences twice as long—than they were 20 years ago. Three experts discussed some of the consequences of this massive prison population before 63 policymakers, advocates, and scholars at a May 13 IPR policy briefing in Washington, D.C. The briefing was supported by a grant from the Joyce Foundation.

Discrimination in employment

Of the two million prisoners currently incarcerated, roughly 95 percent will be released at some point. Most will look for a job, but they will find their options severely limited, particularly if they are African American. As Devah Pager, assistant professor of sociology at Princeton, pointed out, the incarceration rate of blacks is seven times that of whites. Nearly one in three young black men will eventually serve time in a prison.

To test how a criminal record affects job prospects, Pager hired 20 young men, carefully matched on qualifications, appearance, and other characteristics, to apply for entry-level jobs in Milwaukee (8) and New York City (12). Applying for hundreds of the same jobs in black and white pairs, team members took turns posing as an ex-offender with a felony drug conviction.

In both cities, the callback rate for blacks and whites with a criminal background was one-third to one-half less than those without. More troubling, the callback rate for whites with a felony conviction was the same or higher than that of blacks with no criminal history.

“These results show that being black is essentially equivalent to having a felony conviction, at least in the eyes of these employers,” Pager said. The irony, she continued, is that discrimination keeps these young men from finding steady jobs, yet a steady job keeps individuals from turning to crime to survive.

Second-class citizens

In addition to the difficulty of making an honest living, ex-felons often find themselves relegated to second-class citizenship. Jeff Manza, Northwestern professor of sociology and acting director of IPR in 2004-05, explained that depending on which state they live in, felons can lose the right to vote, hold public office, and serve on juries. These penalties often extend well beyond a period of incarceration.

“There is no country in the world other than the United States that disenfranchises such large numbers of non-incarcerated felons,” Manza said. Of the 5.3 million ex-felons unable to vote, one million are in Florida alone. In several states, disenfranchisement laws bar more than one-fifth of the African American population from voting. Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no restrictions on felon voting rights.

Recent surveys show two-thirds of the public support enfranchising current probationers and parolees, and similar or greater percentages support restoring voting rights for ex-offenders.

Manza concluded that felon disenfranchisement does not achieve any of the “logical goals” of punishment—rehabilitation, incapacitation, and deterrence—nor does it protect democracy. There is some evidence to suggest that bringing ex-offenders back into the political system discourages future criminal activity, he said.

Children of incarcerated fathers

	Carla Smalls of the National Institute of Corrections asks a question.

Not only does prison serve to disconnect former inmates from society, but it also seems to do the same for their children. IPR Faculty Associate John Hagan, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern, revealed that half of the men in jail are fathers, and 12 percent of U.S. children have at least one parent in the penal system.

Evidence suggests that an incarcerated parent sets the child on a course for “institutional disconnection” as he or she grows older, Hagan said. Adolescents with an incarcerated parent are three times more likely to be homeless. They are two times less likely to have health insurance, and twice as likely not to vote.

Most important, these children fall behind in their educational achievement, which is probably the biggest factor behind their disengagement from society.

Hagan singled out a particularly vulnerable subgroup—daughters whose biological fathers are incarcerated. They are two times more likely to be sexually abused, and three times more likely to leave home and become homeless, he explained.

For more information on the policy briefing or to see the video, please go to www.northwestern.edu/ipr/events/briefingMay05.html