This podcast episode features a conversation between host Karen Friedman and the campaign manager for Fully Free, Marlon Chamberlain.
In this Justice Today episode, host and director of Criminal Justice Innovation, Development, and Engagement at the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) speaks with Marlon Chamberlain, the campaign manager for Fully Free, of Chicago, Illinois. The podcast episode addresses the fact that formerly incarcerated people face what can be described as “permanent punishments” that follow them long after their incarceration is over. Chamberlain describes how, even 10 years after his incarceration has ended, there are punishments still being inflicted through restrictions on jobs he can hold, among other things; he describes his efforts to alleviate these “permanent punishments” of the legal restrictions known as “collateral consequences” within the criminal justice system. He also talks about how he came to be incarcerated and how those permanent punishment laws have affected him, and how the idea of second chances and rehabilitation depends on eliminating certain barriers for people to overcome their criminal records.