When the doors open: Collateral sanctions in a felonious world.
(Book - Regular Print)

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-04.

Adviser: Zoe Hammer.

Thesis (M.A.)--Prescott College Master of Arts Program, 2008.

This thesis analyzes the ever-increasing social marginalization of felons at the hands of the justice system and the obstacles this marginalization creates for those who have been convicted of criminal acts. The late 1970s initiated political hegemonic Tough on Crime policies that led the way for enforced mandatory sentencing laws and restrictive policies that, three decades later, have become a shadow looming over the heads of every citizen who has ever been charged and/or convicted of a misdemeanor or a felonious criminal act.

As prison expansion continues and criminal justice policies become selectively targeted, the consequences of a prison sentence continue long after a person has served their time. Collateral consequences are the result of sanctions that are implemented into public and private institutions with the intention of protecting mainstream society from people (felons) who might not deserve by legal or moral standards to teach, nurse, secure, cure, defend, etc. This fundamental protection also ensures that citizens who have been incarcerated for one or more felonies or misdemeanors may never regain their civil rights and privileges, which are directly influenced by these sanctions.

The analysis offered in this thesis puts into question the supposed democratic relationship of the nation-state and citizenship hierarchies, and the unlimited discretion to disenfranchise populations that should not be forced to repeat retribution over and over.