Life After Prison: Breaking Free From the Stigma

By Brooke Stuhr

A prison sentence will change someone’s life 

forever.  Many find that the most difficult part of 

being released from prison is how much has 

changed since they’ve been gone.  

 

 “No one is the same person after 15 years incarcerated.  Everyone changes,” said Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes.

 

Ann Marie Rocheleau, a Professor of Criminology at Stonehill College, has worked closely with inmates to help with their transition process out of prison.  

“The biggest issue for anyone coming out of prison isn’t so much what they’ve learned in prison or whether or not they’ve addressed their issues, but it’s leaving the system with a stigma surrounding them,” said Rocheleau.

 

Pamela Kelley, a Professor of Criminology at Stonehill College, said that most prison systems don’t offer support or guidance to inmates on how to enter back into society. 

“Education plays a huge role. Re-entry programs aren’t a priority for the justice system,” said Kelley.

 

However, not everyone has the same experience in the prison system.  A local man named William J. Allen was charged with felony murder in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison in 1997 at Old Colony Correction Center as a result of holding four women in a bathroom while Rolando Perry robbed and killed Purvis Bester. 

 

Allen is currently seeking commutation with the support of a group called Second Chance Justice after turning his life around in prison.  

 

“He’s found purpose even though he's in prison,” said Kristine McDonald, one of the lawyers that has been working on Allen’s case since 2004.

 

According to Second Chance Justice, Allen has come a long way since being the 20-year-old Brockton kid at the time of his arrest. He's an active participant in prison ministry, serving as a eucharist minister and altar server. He also works with mentally ill inmates through the Companion Program at Bridgewater State Hospital.  

 

“When they come out of the system, they find out the neighborhood they left is not there. Either they change or their neighborhood has changed,” said Chief Gomes. “They often don’t fall back into gangs because no gang is looking for a 40-year-old.”

 

Some people also have an easier transition due to the financial situation they created or are assisted in. “The economic situation they find themselves in plays a huge role. Sometimes they can only turn to drug dealing,” said Chief Gomes.

 

Let’s face it. Why would someone choose a minimum wage job at Dunkin Donuts when they could make a week’s worth of that salary dealing drugs for 1 day? There needs to be a change in the system.  

 

When you apply for a job, there is that part of the application that asks, “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” and as an ex-convict you have the choice to say yes and chance not even being considered for the job or to lie and risk getting caught. There is nothing easy about trying to bounce back after prison. 

 

“You come out with a stigma and that’s the bottom line. People do not want to hire people who have been incarcerated," Professor Rocheleau said. "We have a really punitive society unlike say Europe where someone finishes their sentence and it’s done. They’re forgiven and it’s over with and you can work pretty much anywhere. But in the United States we have this very punitive response to people coming out of prison and that is really the most difficult factor.”

 

“They just want a chance to live life but there are all these obstacles in the way,” said Professor Kelley.  “You need support from people or else you are asking for re-entry into the system”.