Respond To Vicki Post


Hello everyone,

While it is important to be cautious around convicts I believe that those convicts who have served their time, especially for white collar crimes, should not have their rights limited or receive “invisible punishments”. While some convicts may pose a risk to the safety and security of others potentially, such as sex offenders or those found guilty of child pornography, and thus it makes sense to limit their abilities to do things like hold certain jobs. Those that did smaller offenses like robbing a bank should not have their rights limited. Invisible punishments like job restrictions, housing restrictions and inability to become an American citizen should be customized for each criminal offense and only offered to those it may successful deter from repeated offenses or when the safety of the community is at jeopardy. In most cases, these invisible punishments can actually cause repeated offenses. These punishments can  make it almost impossible to return to a normal life for prior convicts and make them feel like the world is setting them up to go back into the criminal lifestyle. It is in my opinion that rehabilitation, and censored punishments tailored towards the criminal would be greatly more effective than simply putting them all into one boat.

Author(s)                                Jeremy Travis. (n.d.). Invisible punishment: An instrument of social exclusion (from invisible punishment: The collateral consequences of mass imprisonment, P 15-36, 2002, Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, eds.). Invisible Punishment: An Instrument of Social Exclusion (From Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment, P 15-36, 2002, Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, eds.) | Office of Justice Programs. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/invisible-punishment-instrument-social-exclusion-invisible

In your response to your peers, consider how well they justified their positions, making use of available resources. Consider the following questions in your response posts:

  • Did they support their positions convincingly with appropriate resources?
  • Which of their points make the most sense to you, even if you made a case for an opposing viewpoint?