The Growing Financial Consequences of Conviction: Implications for Reentry - Research Paper

Introduction

Pleggenkuhle (2017) stated that the financial consequences resulting from a conviction have increased due to the rising fiscal concerns for punitive ideological shifts and criminal justice agencies. Further, the legal, financial obligations (LFOs) have grown in the recent past such as fees resultant from conviction. This growth in LFOs has critical implications for the reentry of the offenders, specifically opportunities for social development and offender reintegration (Pleggenkuhle, 2017). The research article, "The Financial Cost of a Criminal Conviction: Context and Consequences" will be analyzed in this paper. The following assignment will identify the specific focus of the research, examine the characteristics of the population, evaluate the research question, analyze the research methods used and examine the outcomes of the study. Also, the conclusions of the study will be evaluated, implications of the study assessed, and evaluate the extent to which the research study has applied the principle of a well-designed experiment. Also, opportunities for future research will also be identified.

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Specific Focus of the Research

The specific focus of the research was to establish the prevalence and nature of LFOs and explore how they impact post-conviction experiences for an offending population. While adding to the scope of previous studies and their generalizability, the research examines the accumulated impact that the LFOs possess on post-conviction experiences.

Characteristics of the Population

The offending population was the foundation of the study. A population of officially sanctioned offenders and who were under correctional supervision were purposively sampled. The sample included offenders with scheduled report time in their prison schedule. The participants involved fitted in the sample criteria and were male offenders. The sample criteria ensured that the selected participants had experienced recent release from conviction or prison but remained under correctional supervision.

Research Questions

Two research questions were utilized in the study to help address the financial challenges of a conviction and expand the knowledge of the cumulative impact of LFOs. The first research question aimed at determining the scope as well as the totality of LFOs based on a sample of ex-offenders considered for the Midwest state. The second research question sought to establish how LFOs impact emotional, social and structural experiences post-conviction.

Research Methods

The research utilizes qualitative data. The research site was selected to be Missouri and was appropriate for the study since it applies post-conviction costs and sentencing costs on a routine basis. Missouri was found to be a comparable state in terms of imposed expenses and fees. Another selection criterion that led to the selection of Missouri is that the state has varying imposition on restitution fees, court costs and indulgent defense fees based on jurisdiction. Besides, Missouri was also selected as the study site as it practices incarceration in waiving and modifying child support payments.

The research study conducted purposive sampling for a population of offenders who had officially been sanctioned and were under correctional supervision. Scheduled interview attempts were undertaken in accessing a more diverse and complete sample on monthly reporting days. The interviews were semi-structured.

Research Outcomes

A range of outcomes has been found ranging from legal debts that build on prior research. In responding to the first research question about scope and totality of LFOs the findings indicated that there was a high variation between the participants. The results confirmed that LFOs are a challenge to estimate in their entirety due to variability in amount, frequency of payment and timing of assessment. Most participants had sentencing costs. Patterns of variability were further reported for the overall and monthly LFOs. The average monthly cost was $70 which doubled when child support was considered. Variability also occurred for the total legal debt where the overall debt was over $1700 while some offenders had no debt. The debts were reported to mount rapidly in the incarceration period since they were limited in making their payments as the earning potential was low during and after incarceration.

The outcomes further indicated a range of social, economic and identity impacts due to LFOS. These impacts accelerated the existent hindrances to reentry and exclusion of the offenders from normative lifestyles. LFOs were found to hinder social advancement through reinforcement of cumulative disadvantages and minimization of opportunities for employment as well as educational growth. LFOs on the other side affect the emotional stability through alteration of social roles, disruption of mechanisms for eschewing offenders' identity and intertwining with barriers of establishing independence for offenders. The identified factors(social, economic and emotional) are interconnected, and both social and emotional responses partially occur due to financial instability and also attribute to LFOs by themselves. In general, the outcome indicates that LFOs affect a wide range of complex dimensions. LFOs were reported to limit social advancement and were associated with continuing poverty and missed opportunities especially for those under parole supervision.

LFOs alongside economic instability also had a significant influence on participant's lives as greater debts contributed to perpetuated criminal identity, dependence on support systems, threatened social roles and produced adverse emotional states.

Conclusion of the Research

The researcher concludes that LFOs intertwine with challenges of reentry for offenders by impeding reentry and amplifying the already existent problems. They produce adverse outcomes and enhance criminal record mark besides complicating the transition experiences. The research conclusion, therefore, established that the LFOs have in the past decades increased and that they have become a normative component of any criminal conviction.

Research Implication

The research suggests that LFOs impacts already impoverished status and adds legal debts to offenders already facing economic mobility. The legal obligations are hard to manage as most ex-offenders lives are characterized by poverty, social disruption, and unemployment. As such, the research findings have critical implications for the successful transition from a correctional supervision context and as well for prompt reconsideration of policy.

Principles Applied in the Research

A well-designed experiment achieves its goals while remaining cautious of ethical issues that may arise. As such, this research applied the principles of a well-designed experiment. For example, the study obtained informed consent in accessing public records and those from the Department of Correction. The research did not also systematically question the respondents concerning offense history, but only those who volunteered provided additional information about their time in prison. The study also used incentives for participants for their time and informed participants that the lack of or participation had no bearing on supervision status. Therefore, we can conclude that the study applied principles of a well-designed experiment such as informing participants about the research and obtaining consent to collect data.

Future Research Opportunities for Research

Since LFOs further inhibit opportunities for success, future research should focus on determining the effects of abolishing LFOs or somewhat mitigating their adverse effects. As such, future research should address how policies should be refined and how assessments would be more manageable. Policy initiatives such as including community services for financial payment are rarely utilized despite their mutual benefits. Under supervision, offenders find it hard to execute their obligations. More flexibility should be encouraged during monitoring such as the use of incentive-based surveillance. Future research should, therefore, address how policy modification would help reduce the adverse effects of LFOs.

References

Pleggenkuhle, B. (2017). The Financial Cost of a Criminal Conviction: Context and Consequences. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(1), 121-145. doi:10.1177/0093854817734278