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Once you've acquired a criminal record, you can be discriminated against legally in employment, housing, and access to education and public benefits. You're relegated to a permanent second-class status, forever a 'criminal.' Inflicting this amount of unnecessary pain and suffering is not cheap.
Michelle Alexander
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Having a criminal record can permanently affect an individual's life opportunities and social standing.

This quote highlights the profound and lasting consequences of having a criminal record, emphasizing how it leads to discrimination in critical life areas such as employment, housing, and education. The author argues that this system of discrimination perpetuates a cycle of suffering and marginalization, establishing a hierarchy where those with criminal records are unjustly relegated to a lower status in society.

Themes

Criminal RecordDiscriminationJusticeEmploymentHousingEducation

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on criminal justice reform.

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