| Jones describes the difficulties convicts encounter upon the completion of their sentence as they reenter the "free world." Some of the problems identified in the literature include loss of intimacy of family and friends, loss of parental rights, unemployment, and other structural impediments to successful reentry. An equally compelling problem confronting all ex-convicts is the meaning that the term ex-convict holds for society in general and how ex-convicts manage this spoiled identity. Questions confronting the ex-con include: to reveal or not reveal the deviant status, to let on or not to let on, to lie or not lie, and under what circumstances that a particular strategy might be employed? Ex-convicts expect to be treated differently than "noncriminals." The purpose of this chapter is to examine the impact that stigma has on the identify of ex-convicts and how this influences their coping strategies. |
Updated 05/20/2006