"Makes Me Wanna Holler"
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Journalist Nathan McCall can be considered one of the lucky ones. In his autobiography, entitled Makes Me Wanna Holler, McCall recounts a life filled with terrible events and a happy ending in which he was able to get out of prison on parole and, unlike most young black men in America, escape the trap of recidivism and re-make his own life. But any happy ending to a story like McCall's is, at best, bittersweet. His experience with parole and the difficulties that exist for, or are put in the way of, those who need to reinvent themselves nearly overwhelmed him. But, as with so many of his experiences, McCall realizes that although he managed to defeat the effects of America's systemic racism in his fight against a parole system designed to help young black men right back into prison, the system and its motivating prejudices continue. Most of the men he knew in prison never had a chance and things have not changed at all since that time. The overall social response to the very high level of recidivism among paroled felons was not to ask what society was doing wrong (or why it was being done this way) but to insist that parole did not work at all. McCall is not, therefore, an example of how parole can work to defeat recidivism and get people back on their feet. Instead he is an example of how a few individuals can defeat a system and a set of attitudes that work directly against their stated goals. After over two years in prison for armed robbery McCall took some good
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r and stepfather had extended to him. They cared, they had faith in him, and he decided that he "couldn't let them down." The criminal justice system's parole system (community corrections) has rules that, theoretically at least, recognize the importance of major changes in the paroled person's life. Training, a job, new associates, education--all the elements that combine to give the individual a new sense of purpose and self-respect are inherent in the rules recited by McCall's utterly detached, uninterested parole officer. But in the face of an 85 percent recidivism rate for felons the response of American society has not been to ask why the parole system is not working, instead "federal crime control legislation has all but eliminated consideration of probation and parole, and funding levels have remained stagnant nationally during a period when the community corrections population has soared." Even within the remains of the community corrections system (responsible for people on probation or parole), however, there is no agreement regarding the basic purpose of parole. Should the principle goal be "public safety? offender reintegration? victim services?" and, if one is selected above the others, does not "serving one
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1882
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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