Some disturbing stats, from After Prison Boom, A Focus on Hurdles Faced by Ex-Cons:
Two-thirds of ex-felons return to police custody within three years of their release for new crimes or for probation or parole violations, according to Justice Department studies. U.S. taxpayers spent $60 billion on corrections in 2002 at the local, state and federal levels, up from $9 billion two decades earlier. Over that same time frame, corrections has been the second fastest growing government spending category after health care.
Naturally, society needs to present a credible threat toward potential criminals, but it also needs to make it easy for wayward ex-cons to rejoin the fold; otherwise crime is their best option, to society’s detriment.