Joseph Lauren was rare among federal prisoners having been convicted of a white collar crime. Little did he know the challenges he would face in the prison system and afterwards trying to secure housing and find employment with a criminal record. In this episode, he tells us about the unforeseen consequences of his crime for others, his experiences with the correctional system, his challenges finding housing after custody and his current involvement with Restorative Justice Housing Ontario.
This episode raises some interesting issues:
a) if people understood the unintended consequences of their crimes for others, would it have a deterrent effect?
b) should more be done in Canada to allow people to move beyond the stigma of a criminal record once the sentence for the crime has been completed?
c) Can restorative justice principles ease the post-custody housing problem?
Check out Joseph's documentary 'Collared': https://tenorfilms.com/collared/