Prisoner Reentry and Social Capital

Based on interviews with 25 men and women who were recently released from prison, this book explores the re-entry process and the barriers that lead to failed re-entry and a return to prison. Unique to Prisoner Re-entry and Social Capital, Earl Smith and Angela J. Hattery explore the role that social capital plays in successful re-entry as well the unique experiences of drug addicts, sex offenders, and women who give birth while incarcerated.

'If you do the crime you gotta do the time.' This adage reflects the overall attitude most Americans have about crime and the criminal justice system. Implicit in this adage is the notion that once 'the time' is done, the individual is free to re-enter society and resume a normal life. In Prisoner Re-entry and Social Capital, authors Earl Smith and Angela J. Hattery challenge this myth. Prisoner Re-entry and Social Capital takes as its starting point interviews with twenty-five men and women during the summer of 2008 about their experiences with re-entering the 'free world' after a period of incarceration. By analyzing the experiences of these men and women, Smith and Hattery look in depth at the factors that inhibit successful re-entry and illustrate some successes and failures. The book examines individual characteristics that inhibit successful re-entry such as addiction and sex offender status as well as the unique challenges faced by women. Uniquely, Smith and Hattery focus on the role that social capital plays as one of the most important factors that shapes the re-entry experience. Today, one of the most pressing issues facing scholars, those who work in the criminal justice system, and the citizenry as a whole is the extraordinarily high rate of recidivism. These interviews and analyses provide a deeper and more precise understanding of the biases faced by re-entry felons in the labor market and work to address the key barriers to re-entry in hopes to aid in their elimination.

Chapter 1 Chapter One: Introduction to the issue: Who are Re-entry felons and why does this matter?
Chapter 2 Chapter Two: Barriers to Re-Entry and Increased Recidivism
Chapter 3 Chapter Three: The role of addiction
Chapter 4 Chapter Four: The role of sexual abuse in childhood
Chapter 5 Chapter Five: The special case of women
Chapter 6 Chapter Six: The impact of Social Capital on Re-entry
Chapter 7 Chapter Seven: The special case of exonerees
Chapter 8 Chapter Eight: Where do we go from here? Policy Implications