Giving ex-cons a second chance

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Good afternoon, Businessmen of Texas. First and foremost, I would like to thank you
for inviting me to address this assembly today. My name is Archibald Gostorch and I
am a sociology student at the University of Texas. I am here to talk about how hiring
ex-offenders can contribute to multiple benefits – for your business, for them and for
society. In the next twenty minutes I will in the next twenty minutes [see FS p 17 on
long adverbials between subject and main verb] describe the current situation of
prisoners in Texas compared with the rest of the US. I will show you some statistics
and I will explain, through examples, how hiring an ex-offender can create value for
your business. At the end of the session, I will leave some time for any questions you
might have about the topic.

In the United States of America, 2.3 million Americans are incarcerated. This makes
one out of every one hundred adults in the US a prisoner, a number that has
quadrupled since 1970, and this high number makes America the nation in the world
that has the most incarcerated citizens (Sprovieri, 2016).

Unfortunately, Texas has shown to be the state in America with the largest number of
prisoners. Statistically, Texas has nearly 145,000 people locked behind bars. This a
number that has proved to be a huge cost in the sum of roughly USD 3 billion per
year, which is costing Texan society USD 50 on a daily basis. (Tomlinson, 2017).

The question is: is — Is it really necessary to spend this amount of money on keeping
people locked up, as majority of the inmates are convicted due to minor crimes, such
as simple drug possession? In numbers, these types of prisoners are 7,000 of the
145,000 in Texas’ jails (Tomlinson, 2017). Perhaps, proper job solutions could be the
way out of a life of crime for many of these criminals?

It is equally important to mention another sad percentage, according to prisoners. The

percentage I am referring to is the 67% of ex-offenders in America who get
rearrested within only six 6 months after their release from jail (Sprovieri, 2016).

Having this in mind, facts have shown that improving education and job opportunities
for inmates have a positive effect on whether an ex-con returns to prison or stays out
of crime (Tomlinson, 2017). One great example is ex-con Jahaun McKindley, who
works for Cascade Engineering. Mr. McKindly spent 18 years locked up in prison, but
when he finally got released and started working for Cascade Engineering, he was
given a second chance. A chance to show he was not just a prisoner nor an ex-
convict, but a true asset value to American society and to American business. Today,
Mr. McKinley has worked for Cascade Engineering for six 6 years, and he is now in a
management position due to multiple promotions. Mr. McKindley is far from the only
ex-offender, who is willing to work hard (Sprovieri, 2016). The possibility for ex-
convicts to work provides them with the ability to take care of themselves and their
families, thereby it helps these ex-cons to feel reformed, as well as giving them
determination to excel into a better future ( The Guardian, 2016).

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As I said before, ex-cons are often known for working harder than workers whom
have no criminal record, as they feel a need to show their worth ( The Guardian,
2016). Cascade Engineering is not the only company which has discovered the value
and benefits of hiring ex-cons. Multiple other large American companies have also had
great success with hiring former prisoners. Examples of these are Butterball, Home
Depot, Walmart and Koch Industries ( The Guardian, 2016). Moreover, the American
Government also shows interest in getting former criminals jobs and a better future.
Programs such as ban-the-box ( The Guardian, 2016) and federal bonding programs
create benefits for companies that offer work placements for ex-cons (Sprovieri,
2016).

According to Jeff Sicilian, owner of Restaurant Pizza and Pasta, the programs are a
great success. Mr. Sicilian’s restaurant supports ex-offenders by being part of the
Brother-help-brother Program, which is another program that connects businesses
and former inmates. Furthermore Mr. Sicillian has, in an interview, explained in an
interview how much effort these former criminals make, what a great job they do and
how happy he is that his restaurant can contribute to get these people on the right
track (Business owners gives ex-cons a chance at new start).

In spite of the many positive results and benefits it brings offering job opportunities to
ex-pants, still a large number of ex-offenders stands with no job, no money to
support their families and no possible way they can contribute to society. In 2009,
75% of ex-pants were without a job. Research has shown that one of the main
reasons behind this number is that many large companies are running background
checks before even bringing a candidate to a job interview. Learning that a candidate
has a criminal background creates fear, and does not let the ex-offenders show their
true person, qualities or motivation ( The Guardian, 2016).

To sum up, I believe ex-offenders should be given the second chance they deserve.
We, the people of America, must not judge each other on our pasts, but for whom we
are today. American businesses should evaluate an ex-offender on his or her spirit to
contribute to our common nation America. The positive results from former prisoners
being in an employment situation should be the motivation for your organization to
reconsider the great opportunity it is to hire an ex-pant Besides, government
programs have promised extra benefits and security, and in this way your company
has nothing to lose but instead everything to win!

Thank you for attending my speech this afternoon, I truly appreciate your presence
and I hope that you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Lastly, I will encourage you to
ask questions to close any doubt or gab you might have.

Bibliografi
The Guardian. (04. 02 2016). Can hiring ex-offenders make a business more
profitable? Companies that hire former inmates say those . The Guardian , s. 3.
Business owners gives ex-cons a chance at new start [Film]. Kentucky, US.

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Sprovieri, J. (04. 05 2016). Giving ex-cons a second chance on the assembly line .
Assembly , s. 2.
Tomlinson, C. (01. 01 2017). Commentary: Is Texas wasting money by locking up so
many people? Easy answer is yes. Houston Chronicle , s. 3.

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