In Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, Capote follows the stories of both a murdered family, the Clutters, and their murderers, Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. Over the course of the novel, Capote reveals that Hickock and Smith met in prison and reconnected once they were both released (161). The pair’s target in invading the Clutter household was money in an alleged safe; murdering the Clutters would just ensure no witnesses could identify them as the killers (Capote 161). Eventually police apprehended the pair, and they were sentenced to death by hanging (Capote 215, 307). Unfortunately, re-incarceration (or recidivism) cases like Smith and Hickock’s are all too common. Criminals lack adequate financial and emotional support after release from prison so they must turn to what they know best: criminal activity. Though
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For instance, people released from prison need some form of income, but ex-convicts have a much more difficult time finding work than those with no criminal history (“The Challenges of Prisoner Re-Entry Into Society”). Not only is finding work after prison “a key challenge for former prisoners,” it is also “a strong predictor of desistance from crime” (Harding et al. 5). That is to say, ex-convicts who find work are often much more successful in re-integrating with society than those who do not, so finding work becomes a make-it-or-break-it moment for people exiting the prison system. Unfortunately for job-seekers with criminal histories, only about twelve and a half percent of employers say they will hire ex-convicts, and most jobs require applicants to divulge their criminal records (“The Challenges of Prisoner Re-Entry Into Society”). Without the proper social support from society, ex-convicts are unable to create their own financial support, and many fall back into criminal
For instance, people released from prison need some form of income, but ex-convicts have a much more difficult time finding work than those with no criminal history (“The Challenges of Prisoner Re-Entry Into Society”). Not only is finding work after prison “a key challenge for former prisoners,” it is also “a strong predictor of desistance from crime” (Harding et al. 5). That is to say, ex-convicts who find work are often much more successful in re-integrating with society than those who do not, so finding work becomes a make-it-or-break-it moment for people exiting the prison system. Unfortunately for job-seekers with criminal histories, only about twelve and a half percent of employers say they will hire ex-convicts, and most jobs require applicants to divulge their criminal records (“The Challenges of Prisoner Re-Entry Into Society”). Without the proper social support from society, ex-convicts are unable to create their own financial support, and many fall back into criminal