Question

1) Should employers be allowed to discriminate against returning citizens once they have paid their debt to society? If so, how can an individual be completely rehabilitated if we permit their punishment to extend beyond their incarceration?

2) Several returning citizens have told me Michigan License plates, McDonald's uniform, police gear, furniture, etc are all produced in prison. Inmates are often paid .23 cents an hour to produce these items. Should it be legal for companies to use cheap prison labor?

Answer 1

1. When a person comes back after paying back their debts, employers should discriminate them. The discrimination should, however, be healthy, that is they should be careful that the same mistake is not being repeated. The employer should make sure that the person is not given any chance for a mistake, but also provide an adequate environment for them to grow. For a person to be rehabilitated the employer should make sure that the environment should be adequate for behavioral modification. Extending their punishment beyond their incarceration will help them understand that their deeds are wrong and that the behavior should be discontinued.

2. It should be legal for the companies to use prison labor because it serves two main purposes. Firstly, they give chance for the prisoners to earn something when they are in the confinement. And making sure that the pay is not so high which may facilitate their liking for staying in the prison. Secondly, the company itself will get benefitted by getting labor at a cheaper price. It is more to do with a good marketing strategy.