Not all prisoner’s are trapped behind bars, or wear orange. Some instead find themselves stuck in a prison of their own experiences. Shaped by their trauma, and the scars left behind these individuals will most likely impact their adult lives and the decisions they will make. This is a painful reality for many whose early experiences create long-lasting wounds that ripple into adult-hood and sometimes into the criminal justice system.

How does trauma lead people into the Criminal Justice System?

Studies show that trauma, specifically in one’s childhood, affects the brain’s development. When adolescents and younger people endure constant or severe stress the brain wires itself in harmful ways. The exposure to trauma can lead to problems with mental health disorders, emotional regulation, trust issues, and more. When the brain wires itself in such a way, feelings and actions that should come easy to most won’t be the same for those who’ve endured childhood trauma. A lack of empathy, inability to control one’s anger, and difficulty understanding consequences are common within trauma survivors. The abuse one endured as a child may come as a coping mechanism in their adulthood, this is because they view this aggression as normal. Some other things that can affect a person in adulthood is lack of hope and self worth, substance abuse, and lack of opportunities.

How can we break the cycle?

When the world doesn’t give you opportunities to change, what are you supposed to do? This is a common problem within poverty, and the incarcerated. According to the Bureau of Justice “Seventy percent of prisoners released in 2012 were arrested again within five years…” For prisoners with juvenile records the rate goes up to 80%. To make a difference, we need to make opportunities more available for those in the criminal justice system, juveniles and adults. This means we need mental health support, more information spread on trauma and how to heal from it, education, jobs, etc.

To make any of this happen, we as a community need to learn not to judge people based on their backgrounds. It is shown most prisoners try to make a change for the better when they’re released, however with the challenges reintegrating into society many repeat the same crimes that got them into prison in the first place. The societal stigma that hinders ex-cons ability to get a job also hinders one’s ability to live and survive.

In the end, we all come from different backgrounds, we can all make a positive or negative change to society. I want you to think about where you came from and think, would someone judge you for who you were or could’ve been? For most people, the answer is yes. This alone should help to understand why we shouldn’t judge others for where they came from. With a lack of judgment and more opportunities, ex-cons and many others can learn to lead a productive life pushing past the negative outcome of their childhood.