As I finish up my bachelor’s degree in social work, I can’t help but think about all the individuals who get caught up in the legal system due to addiction or mental illness.
People who suffer from these two illnesses commit crimes they otherwise wouldn’t commit, which results in them not being able to find a decent job, or any job at all, after their conviction. According to Maslow’s hierarchy, if someone’s basic needs aren’t met, then they can’t climb to the next part of the hierarchy, (Maslow, 1970a).
Some counties in Ohio are fortunate to have treatment court, which are wonderful, however, this does not guarantee probationers will be able to find a decent paying job, due to all the collateral sanctions Ohio policies have in place.
I read an article by Michael Shields and Pamela Thurston on the Policy Matters Ohio website; which provided a lot of information regarding the collateral sanctions Ohio imposes on people who have either felonies or misdemeanors on their records. According to Shields and Thurston (2018), “Collateral sanctions are state laws and administrative rules that restrict access to jobs, housing, and civil rights for Ohioans with convictions.”
Ohio has 524 specific laws, based on a drug conviction, that limit the opportunity for work, and 44 percent of those laws affect people with misdemeanors.
My question is, if someone commits a crime and pays their dues to society, should they have to pay for that mistake for the rest of their lives?
As we know from Maslow’s hierarchy, basic needs are the first thing a person needs to take care of, and if they can’t do that by earning an honest living, then their natural instinct is going to do whatever they need to do to get their basic needs met, up to and including committing a crime.
I believe it makes more sense to give people who have made mistakes a chance to make an honest living, then it does to hold them back and have them resort to crime. Plus, I believe it makes more sense to give them a chance to earn their own way in life, then to pay for them to be incarcerated.
Concerned Citizen,
Annette Ward
Shiloh, Ohio
