Although many people with criminal convictions have decided to return to their community and declare a break with their past, society’s suspicions about them continue to surround them – even after they have served their sentences – as they are viewed as a constant source of anxiety.
This explains why some of them return to committing the same previous mistakes, for which they paid a heavy price, as the courts daily deal with cases of young people who returned to committing legal violations and crimes, due to society’s rejection of them.
The Ministry of Interior revealed the implementation of 24 specialized programs to support and rehabilitate inmates, in addition to a project to amend the penal facilities law to integrate those released into society.
Former convicts considered that the sentences issued by society are much harsher than the sentences issued by court judges, because their duration is not specified, and because they accompany them everywhere they go.
Doctors and psychologists confirm that the suffering of the former convict requires intensifying societal awareness that he has the right to have a second chance to return to the right path again and to engage in his society.
In detail, people with previous convictions confirmed the suffering of those released from the skeptical societal outlook, which prevents them from resuming their lives normally and engaging in society as good members, noting that obtaining a job, or a life partner, is the most difficult thing they face, because of the “criminal stigma” that they face. I caught up with them.
A former convict on charges of using and possessing narcotic substances (Hamd. M.) said that most members of society feel suspicious of those with prior convictions after serving their sentence, especially company owners and recruitment officials, as they hesitate a lot before giving them a job, or agreeing to marry them, because they think that the prisoner, If he is released, he will likely commit his crimes again.
He added that he had two history of using narcotic substances, the first was due to the recklessness of youth and bad friends, and the second was due to everyone staying away from him after completing his sentence.
He explained that he fell into a bad psychological state that led him back to addiction, but he received medical and psychological treatment and became a good individual whose only need was to regain society’s trust in him.
(Majid H.), who was convicted of using narcotic substances, and the court accepted his request to replace the remaining period of the sentence by placing him under electronic monitoring after he had served half the term, confirmed that society’s view and treatment of those with previous convictions is harsher than the prison itself, pointing out that society’s rulings take time. Much longer than the rulings issued by the judiciary. This is accompanied by refusal to appoint them or give them jobs, regardless of their academic degrees, skills, or willingness to learn. People also do not differentiate between one crime and another, and do not look at the circumstances that led this person to break the law, or his young age at the time, and what is worse is that they do not believe his desire to repent.
He continued that most of the people who have been sentenced to prison are seeking work to resume their normal lives, but they cannot find anyone to accept them or employ them, stressing that there is a great injustice committed against them by society and company owners.
Muhammad A., the son of a person who was tried and imprisoned more than once for writing bad checks and drug use, saw that societal stigma is not limited to those with prior convictions, but rather extends to their children, noting that his father and mother are separated, and his mother is married and has two children. Children from her other husband. As for his father, he does not take care of his affairs or the affairs of his five brothers, and he has a history, which prompted relatives and neighbors to stay away from his children.
He said: “If any argument occurs between one of us and any of our acquaintances, for any reason, the other party immediately blames us for our father’s past, and we also feel that we are not welcome at any family gathering.”
For his part, the legal advisor, Hassan Al-Mulla, stressed the need to educate society that people who have been convicted of crimes and served their punishment deserve a chance to return again to the right path, pointing out that a person may not be punished twice for the same crime.
He said: “We encountered many people with previous convictions who returned to crime and violating the law because of society’s view of them and their rejection and marginalization, especially women. Convicted women face great intransigence from society after their release from prison, and the people closest to them, such as their family or husband, reject them, which results in them returning to prison. Wrong way, and imprisonment again.”
Lawyer Maha Abdullah stressed the necessity of working to reintegrate the released person into his family and society. To return to being an active element in social and practical life, pointing out that the family is the foundation of society, and it contributes positively or negatively to the psychology of the convict. It also plays an essential role in overcoming the post-prison crisis, by accepting him and intensifying care for him, to help him become a good human being again. However, if he is rejected and not accepted among his family, it is likely that he will return to violence and wrong behaviors, especially women, who become vulnerable to being exploited by bad people.
She stressed the need for society to accept the prisoner after his release for many reasons, including: The punishment he received may have corrected his behavior and made him a normal human being, noting that this group needs support from society to overcome the difficulties it faces, especially since the majority of them are in adolescence and youth. It is unfair for them to be punished for a crime twice.
Lawyer Naglaa Ahmed Badaiwi called for embracing the released people (those with criminal convictions) and helping them integrate into society, so that they do not commit criminal acts again.
She said: “In many cases, the punishment of people with previous convictions is not limited to the law, but also includes society, even after the punishment has been carried out. This stigma attached to them increases their social isolation, because people distance themselves from them and reject them. They may be abandoned by the people closest to them, or they may find it difficult to get married, make friends, or find decent work to earn a living and give up crime.”
She pointed out that many young people released in cases of drug abuse return again to committing their previous mistakes, delinquency and crime, due to the social siege.
The psychologist, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sayed, believed that society’s judgment of people with criminal convictions often becomes an incentive to continue criminal behavior, even if they are not convinced of it, and then they gradually accept themselves as criminals, and act on this basis.
He added, “The former prisoner clashes with society’s outlook and the way its members treat him. After serving his sentence and leaving civilian life again, he discovers that he has become a social outcast and is not welcomed by others. He also finds it difficult to get work.” If he gets a job, he is treated with caution, and isolation is imposed on him gradually, which affects him psychologically as a result of his feelings of injustice, which generates in him a hatred for his society, so he turns again to bad companions, where he feels equality among them.
The former prisoner clashes with society’s view and treatment of him after serving his sentence.