Recidivism and Reentry: The Perils of Civil Death
- April 11th, 2021
- in Uncategorized
by: Ava Fisher (Prison Writing Competition winner, 2021)
Introduction
The criminal justice system in the U.S. has long represented a response to a very fundamental belief of democracy: the concept of the social contract. Social contract theory is rooted in ancient political theory that inspired the very birth of democracy itself. However, a contemporary understanding that has been implemented in much of western governance draws its influence from the discourse of enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.[i] This idea of the social contract revealed that in order to receive protection of property and life by the State, individuals had to sacrifice personal liberty. This sacrifice was viewed as the action to forgo man’s intrinsic nature to pursue brute power and war against his brethren in favor of society, community, and governance.[ii]