LaTonya Myers was happy to be winning an award for working as the first Bail Navigator at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. But as she was being honored at City Hall for helping people navigate this complex system, she later learned SHE was in violation of parole herself!
Seeing how absurd her own situation was, she decided to start what she’s calling the Probation Awards, where people like herself are honored for doing good things to become candidates for the early termination of their parole.
Still, parole remains a major issue.
Over 4 million people are on probation and parole around the country - it’s more than double the amount imprisoned. It’s become a huge issue that’s gained more and more attention daily, likely because the expensive fees and elaborate ways people are monitored make living life difficult.
Monitoring under “community control” or “mass supervision,” as well as repeated check-ins, “digital shackles,” and other restrictive issues, all get in the way of responsibilities like work - and thus get in the way of creating a new life for many. This makes plenty of folks want to just give up.
It’s important to understand that it’s VERY easy to violate probation and parole, because the system is set up for failure. It doesn’t make someone a bad person because they did. Often, it means that the so-called community supervision system itself is the problem!