Urban Incarceration: Beyond Survival - Parole, Probation, and Clearing Your Name (pt-7)

We would love to hear from you, send us a text!

Support the show

Thank you for tuning into the Struggle2Success Podcast!

Become a loyal listener and subscribe to the podcast through Spotify, Apple, IHeart or other podcasting channels.

Connect with Us on the Web: s2spodcast.net and Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners.

This episode was hosted by Sterling Brown

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you have ever been told by someone that you're not
capable of attaining success,if you have made mistakes or
lived in an underprivilegedneighborhood, then this podcast
is for you.
You are now locked in toStruggle2 Success.
Struggle2 Success aims toinspire individuals to navigate
life's challenges with courage,fortitude and unwavering

(00:21):
determination.
So if you're in your carjogging or somewhere else trying
to find the calm in the storm,then join Struggle2 Success
airing every other Saturday.
Remember life is trials.
Stay focused.

Sterling (00:37):
Hello Wonderful People .
In episode five I said not alllegal representation is the same
, and I meant that you needsomeone who understands reentry
law.
Not all legal representation isthe same and I meant that you
need someone who understandsreentry law, not just criminal
law, someone who's not just inthe courtroom to close a file
but to fight for your future.
I didn't have that.
In my early 20s I was chargedwith possession with intent over

(00:58):
one bag of marijuana.
They hit me with a felony andgave me a bail, like I was Pablo
Escobar.
That one case sent me in aspiral that took years to climb
out of.
And while some folks still saywhat happened to me was harsh,
I'll be real.
I did wrong, I wasn't innocent.
But when you come from aneighborhood that's
under-resourced, overlooked andover-policed, you learn quick.

(01:21):
The punishment doesn't matchthe act, it matches the zip code
.
I didn't have a fighter in mycorner.
I had a court-appointedattorney.
Clean, cut, polished, said allthe right things.
When it came down to it, I wasjust another name on his
overloaded calendar.
No strategy, no options, justtake the plea.

(01:43):
That kind of representationdoesn't protect you.
It buries you.
Some lawyers look at your lackof legal knowledge as an easy
win.
They know you won't ask theright questions.
They know you'll sign what theyput in front of you, but the
moment you do, you're lockedinto consequences you can't walk
away from.

(02:04):
So let's talk about what comesafter probation and parole,
because most people use thosewords interchangeably but
they're not the same.
In Pennsylvania, probation iswhen the court lets you serve
your sentence out in thecommunity instead behind bars.
On paper it looks like a soundbreak, but it comes with strict

(02:28):
consequences Regular check-inswith probation officers, drug
tests, curfews, treatmentprograms, employment
requirements.
You mess up any one of thesethings, even the smallest, and
you're going back to court andthat judge.
They can give you your fullsentence that you originally

(02:49):
avoided.
Then there's unsupervisedprobation, where you're not
reporting to a probation officeror PO and you don't have to
check in, but you're still underthe court's watch.
One wrong move and everythingcrashes and low-key, but still
high-risk.
Now parole Parole comes afteryou've served a sentence,

(03:12):
generally upstate, after you'vedone time.
It means that the state letsyou finish your sentence.
Now in Pennsylvania it's 85% ofyour sentence out in the
community, but you're stillunder the Department of
Corrections and you're stillbeing watched.
You're still under statecontrol.
You're out, but not free If youviolate those terms.
So you're out, but not free.

(03:33):
If you violate those terms, yougo right back to prison, no
questions asked.
Probation is the court givingyou a shot before jail.
Parole is the system releasingyou early after jail.
But both are controlled freedom, both are full of landmines.
Probation sounds like a win,but here's the truth.

(03:56):
You stay out of jail, you getto work, you get to be around
your family.
The cons the rules are tight,the system is unforgiving.
You could lose everything overa late curfew or missed payment.
Parole the pros are you're outof prison, you're re-entering,
you're getting a second chance.
But the cons you're stillserving time.

(04:17):
And one mistake, whether yoursor someone else's, and it's all
over.
You thought you were grindingyour way to freedom, picking up
double shifts, trying to beconsistent, trying to get your
kids back, trying to show yourfamily.
You've changed, but you missone call to your probation
officer.
And because you were working,that's a one call to your
probation officer.
And because you were working,that's a violation.
Most of them don't care, onlythat you did.

(04:41):
That's not a setup, it's policyand it's a pattern.
A pattern that doesn't ask ifyou're trying A pattern.
That doesn't care about yourpanic attacks, your housing
situations, your mental healthor the fact that the job that
you just got barely gives youhours.
It just wants check boxes andcompliance.

(05:02):
Most people fall in less thanthree years of release, not
because they're criminals, butbecause they're walking a system
designed for failure.
You could be doing everythingright and still you'll lose
everything over one smallmistake.
The system doesn't need you tomess up big, it just needs you
to mess up once.
So how do you make it?

(05:23):
You move early, you move withintention, you learn the rules
so you can navigate around thetraps.
An expungement is real, pardonsare real and possible.
But don't wait until yoursupervision ends to start.
You're already behind then.
I've been in the courtroomsweaty palms, stacks of

(05:44):
documents, years of proof thatI've changed, that I contributed
, that I mattered.
That's what it takes.
This isn't a favor, it's afight, and you've got to prepare
your life like it depends on it, because it does my little
homie.
So start now.
Keep a folder, track everythingjobs, community service

(06:05):
programs save your pay stubs,ask for letters of
recommendation and build yourcase brick by brick, building
and repairing relationshipsalong the way, if you can, and
don't be afraid to ask for help.
I cannot stress this enoughyour pride will do something to
you that you do not want it todo and will make you be silent.

(06:29):
So don't be afraid to ask forhelp.
There are free legal clinicsthat specialize in pardon and
expungement support.
Use them.
Let's talk about the clean statelaw.
Pennsylvania passed it in 2018.
The first of its kind, it wascreated to seal certain criminal
records automatically after 10years of clean living.

(06:51):
Why?
Because so many people weredoing work or trying to get a
job, but were still gettingdenied housing, jobs or other
opportunities.
Then came the Ban the Box, amovement that pushed employers
to stop asking about criminalhistory on job applications.
It gave people a chance to getin a room before their record

(07:13):
got in the way.
And in PA, if you've done yourtime, you can vote, you can
apply for public housing, youcan receive benefits, and you
have to know your rights, notjust understand them.
You have to know your rightsbecause if you do not, they'll
act like if you don't have any.
So, wherever you're at fightinga cause on paper recently

(07:36):
released, I need you to hearthis you are not your charge,
you're not your worst moment,but what you do next, that's on
you.
You can't fake your way outthrough this.
You have to be honest honestwith your lawyer, honest with
the support system, honest withyourself.
If you did wrong, say it, ownit, because you can't change

(07:58):
what you don't want to face.
And once you get clear, onceyou're back on your feet, don't
just walk away like it neverhappened.
Someone needs your story.
Someone needs your feet.
Don't just walk away like itnever happened.
Someone needs your story.
Someone needs your scars.
Somebody needs to see thatsurvival is possible.
It might not be your struggletoday, but tomorrow it might be
your son, your niece, yourneighbor, and when that happens,

(08:22):
your voice might be the reasonthey choose something different.
We were put here to do morethan survive.
We were put here to help eachother, make it through, to
correct each other in love, tobuild legacy, not just life.
Freedom is not paperwork, it'sperseverance.
And remember life is trials,stay focused.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
Thanks for checking out this episode of Struggle2
Success.
To connect with the show, youcan email us at struggle2success
.
p@ gmail.
com.
Make sure you like andsubscribe so that you never miss
an episode.
And remember life is trials,stay focused.