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K.B. was in a car with her ex-boyfriend when he got busted doing a drug deal. Although not involved, she was arrested anyway and did what most people do to avoid the harsh sentence that could follow a risky trial: She took a plea offer that allowed her to remain on probation without serving any jail time. Many defense lawyers view that as a huge win for a drug case in Miami-but to someone with no criminal record, three kids, and a job that she loved, pleading guilty to a felony was more than just a formality.
Before her conviction, K.B. worked at a daycare. She loved being around kids, especially her own. Her son got straight As and perfect attendance in school and was the first in the family to go to college. Her two twin girls are cheerleaders. Supporting them was K.B.'s biggest goal in life, and she did it as a single mom. But after her conviction, she could no longer work at the daycare; she had to get a job at a factory working longer hours for less pay. This meant spending more time away from her children. She was kicked out of her Section 8 housing and put in jail for not informing them of her conviction. K.B.'s family was forced to move to a less-safe neighborhood, where there are frequent drive-by shootings, as a result. But because K.B. served no jail time, she was at least able to find employment-finding a job is typically more difficult after being released from prison. For example, D.M. was arrested when police found drugs and a gun in his car during a "traffic stop." Already having been convicted of a crime, D.M. pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. As he told the police during his post-arrest interview, D.M. couldn't find any employment after his first conviction. His kids needed schoolbooks, so he went back to selling drugs instead. He knew he was risking more jail time but felt he had no other choice.
Incarceration, Release, and Recidivism
What K.B. and D.M have gone through is far from rare. The struggles of reentering citizens are the result of a system that allocates too many resources to incarcerating them and...