A second chance: former inmates in the job market

Hello, my name is [NAVN A], and I am a student of sociology at the University of Texas. I would like to start by saying thank you for having me here today, I am glad about that. I have been asked to give a speech on “A second chance”. There have been a lot of talk about if ex-cons should have a second chance and how. I have followed the situation for many years, and now I want to share my knowledge with you. First, I would like to provide prison statistics and to show why it is so important to give ex-cons a second chance, I will also tell you about different programs which is trying to help formers inmates, getting a job, after prison. Furthermore, I would like to talk about why businesspeople should hire ex-cons and why you should.

First of all, there are a lot of many different opinions about giving ex-cons a second chance. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2.3 million people are incarcerated across America. America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Almost 97 percent of offenders return to the communities they came from, when they come out of jail. Furthermore, the statistics show that 67 percent ex-offenders return to prison. These are really high numbers. It is not good for anyone that the ex-cons return to their old environment after being in prison. Therefore, it is so important to give the ex-cons a second chance. Let me show you an example of a man called Jimmy Erickson who Is a former inmate. Jimmy struggled to get a job. But when he finally got a job, he took overtime and did everything they asked him to. “I’d work my shift and whenever they needed someone to stay over, I volunteered. Anything they asked me to do, I did it.” Today Jimmy has been with Butterball for 7 years and has received several promotions. He has bought a home, found a girlfriend and married her and so on. So, as you see, it is possible for former inmates to get a job. You just need to fight for it and not give up. Eventually, stay over as Jimmy did, it really shows the boss that you are ready to work hard.