Op-Ed: The Forgotten Children / Incarceration and the Family
As the mother of three adult daughters and seven grandchildren, I was incarcerated from 2017-2019 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. My family struggled without me, and I struggled without them as well.
There are double standards in this country, and I would like to focus on both sides. There are approximately 2 million women jailed, and 80% are mothers. Their homes are broken, underage children are left in the care of others, and the family dynamic has changed. Most often, the family unit dissipates and survives on prison visits, video visits, and limited calls, if there are funds on the books and money available to make the trip.
Somehow society feels we got what we deserve, even if they do not know the facts. Mass incarceration has become mass brainwashing. The one thing President Trump did was to put his prison buddies on the top shelf and make sure he sent them home from prison early. Who knew it could be so easy for white-collar inmates to be released. But it comes down to who you know. There is no such thing as equal justice for all.
The prison system is designed to destroy the wrongs attacking the “free” world. But incarceration destroys everything attached to it as well. Collateral damage involves children, property, career changes, and the future of those involved.
On June 24, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade to snatch the support for abortion rights out of the United States. Women went ballistic and literally took it to the streets. Thousands of women, young and old, are protesting and fighting every day for the right to abort a pregnancy. Apparently, the “unborn” children matter, and those children at home without mothers, left to survive for themselves, do not.
We should have or create the same level of commitment as those impassioned over abortion rights. My children are innocent and in no way involved in my crime or my sentence. Why should they suffer? Who is fighting for them? How can we fight for the rights of unborn children and continue to ignore the needs of the children of incarcerated parents.
I do not know about abortion rights. I am not sure if I am for or against them. But we cannot allow the children of inmates to become second-hand citizens and serve a sentence along with their parents. This system is skewed and must be corrected. We need to make our voices heard.
How do we make this happen. If we march and protest, there could be weapons in the street. We are targeted. We do not have the same liberties or rights after our journey through the halfway house and probation.
It is time for the Federal government, Department of Justice, and the BOP to reassess the future of children with incarcerated parents and to review family-related policies.
Sharon D. Johnson
Columbia, SC
