Community Corrections in the News

This is a two-part assignment.

The first assignment requires you to identify an article in a reputable news source (e.g., local or national newspaper or news magazine; NOT google or wikipedia) that addresses an issue about community corrections. Please provide a link to the article or attach the article itself. Provide a brief summary of the article (2-4 sentences), and also indicate (a) why was the article interesting to you personally, and (2) how does it fit in with, add to, or contradict what you are learning in the course. If relevant, you may also discuss how it relates to your own personal experiences as a professional working in or with the criminal justice field.

This should be no more than 1 page double-spaced.

The second assignment, you must respond to the following post. Please be insightful and thoughtful (and appropriate) with your commentary. You may wish to agree or disagree with a point made, or you may wish to express how a particular article/posting relates to your own work experience;

Engineer’s hiring of a felon resurrects his own troubles

http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/may/11/engineers-hiring-of-a-felon-resurrects-h/#sthash.XGtMEsjr.dpuf

Mahoning County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti was criticized over the hiring decision of Paul A. Bindas, a fourth-degree felon, who pleaded guilty to stealing $35,949 from the Ohio Turnpike Commission while working as a toll collector between Jan. 1, 2010, and Nov. 4, 2011. Bindas complied with the sanction handed down by Judge Lou A. D’Apolito which was six months’ probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $35,949 from his retirement fund and was discharged him from supervision. This shows that offenders are more apt to comply with community-oriented sanctions when their freedom may in jeopardy. This article is interesting to me for two reasons. First, it shows how the stigma of being arrested can continue on even if an offender does what they need to do. Second, it shows that certain issues such as giving a felon a second chance can contribute to political mudslinging. In this case, Ginnetti’s IRS debt trouble was brought up even though it had nothing to do with the hiring of Bindas.

This should be no more than half a page.

I will attach 4 lectures from the course lectures to reference.

This was the textbook:

https://books.google.com/books?id=RnCuBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT6&lpg=PT6&dq=isbn+978-0-323-31264-6&source=bl&ots=pCeuxRZxJm&sig=ohxT-bpqckacHD-pf9MtVynpBSs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiUprO3oPHKAhVQySYKHff0BSUQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=isbn%20978-0-323-31264-6&f=false