In the fourth chapter of her book, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander argues that in the present day freed criminals have barely more rights than freed black slaves or black persons living during the Jim Crow era. She opens the chapter with a depiction of freed slaves struggling to adjust to a society that stigmatized them as inhuman. Even though the institution of slavery was defeated by the emancipation, it immediately mutated into a new more intricate form, legal discrimination. Southern plantation owners had the power to capture freed blacks on the street and force them back into slavery, as every black person was still presumed a slave. Alexander likens this treatment to the modern day criminal who re-enters society as a vulnerable second-class citizen.

She asserts that a defendant generally does not understand the repercussions of being convicted and labeled as a criminal. A minor drug offense may permanently lose you the right to vote and eligibility for federal aid. Alexander quotes Jeremy Travis as saying, “In this brave new world, punishment for the original offense is no longer enough; one’s debt to society is never paid.”(139) Once a criminal makes it through the penal system they are only met with discriminatory rules and regulations that are designed to create a feeling of isolation and inferiority. She poses the question that if you treat criminals as outcasts, how do you expect them to act? (141)

Alexander then takes us through the plight of the freed criminal from the time of release to, what is likely for most convicted criminal, re-incarceration. Finding a job post-incarceration is one of the most difficult tasks for an ex-offender. As if the stigma society attaches isn’t harmful enough, employers have the legal right to deny consideration for a job opening. Without easy access to employment most ex-offenders have to rely on public shelters and family for housing and money.

In addition, most freed criminals are released with large amounts of debt, which can be debilitating. Typically, ex-offenders are forced to pay fees to a variety of agencies including probation departments, courts, and child support enforcement offices and in some cases for drug testing and drug treatment. However, most offenders cannot afford to pay these fees, especially as they try to enter society and find a job. If they are fortunate enough to find a job, by law, governmental agencies can garnish up to 100% of an ex-offender’s paycheck, leaving them with absolutely nothing to take home. To find oneself in this predicament, it would not be surprising to surpass a real job for illegal activity that may be more profitable. Thus, the cycle is perpetuated.

What seems evident is that the criminal justice system in America was not made for rehabilitation and successful re-entry into society. For many instances, without the right to vote and access to governmental aid such as public housing and food stamps, ex-offenders are almost left with no choice but to survive by any means necessary. Putting people in this situation creates the tendency for ex-offenders to become repeat offenders. Criminals in this day in age are bound by the policies and regulations that limit them from living freely in society. Once they enter this institution, they wear the badge of slavery just as ex-slaves did post-emancipation.