It’s a long story, but people have to hear it. In Pennsylvania probation often functions more as a Kafkaesque eternal punishment than as a tool to help return offenders to society.
By Charles R. Davis, Business Insider
Kevin has been in the system since he was a baby. His mother was unable to provide for him, so he was raised in foster care, and he spent his adolescence in a Philadelphia educational and treatment facility for young people with behavioral issues — a facility that declared bankruptcy in 2016 after a resident was killed there during a struggle with staff.

He was still a teenager when, a year after his school went under, he graduated to a new form of state supervision. At the age of 18, Kevin — Insider is using a pseudonym at the request of his attorney — got into an altercation with police in Sharon Hill, a Philadelphia suburb, that resulted in him receiving a sentence of up to 23 months of incarceration and a year of probation. While he was incarcerated, he was accused of ripping his mattress and stuffing his shirt in a jail toilet. He was charged with institutional vandalism and criminal mischief and received two more years of probation.
Kevin spent about two months behind bars over those incidents. But probation has meant that, in order to avoid a return, he has to comply with rules that are imposed and enforced at the discretion of a judge and probation officer. For example, smoking marijuana, which has been decriminalized in Philly, is considered a technical violation, so testing positive for it can land someone on probation back in jail.
Recent Posts
After Abu Akleh’s Murder, Media Continued To Obscure Israeli Violence
July 3, 2022
Take Action Now The U.S. promised a full investigation, but nothing has happened so far despite overwhelming evidence showing she was…
The ACA Marketplace Is A Scam Covered With The Veneer of “Choice”
July 3, 2022
Take Action Now Purchasing health insurance on the marketplace is so confusing that it is impossible for consumers to make rational…
Democrats Appoint Oil And Gas Lobbyist To Environment Subcommittee
July 2, 2022
Take Action Now Kristi Parrott is joining the Subcommittee on Environment from HBW Resources, where she lobbied Congress on behalf of an…
Abortion Restrictions Will Force Doctors Into Impossible Decisions
July 2, 2022
Take Action Now In a post-Roe world, doctors will increasingly face a terrible choice: to follow heinous laws or to uphold ethical obligations…