If you think the people around you haven't done terrible things over the last 13 years they haven't been caught for I've got some bad news for you about humanity
Context is of course key, but a blanket statement of "hiring someone who spent 13 years in prison for a serious, violent crime is a good thing" seems wild to me, which is the vibe on this thread.
Because you’re asking a safety/comfort question, but it’s dependent on the answers to the above.
I truly can't believe that HN thinks this is some offensive opinion.
Murder is considered one of the worst offenses in any society. But this person was already punished by society, and seen fit by the law to return to it. So what could explain your continue (and very understandable) discomfort? Is it because you believe that the penal system did not properly make this person safe to return to society? Is it because that once someone has committed such a terrible crime that they are inevitably going to be able to do so again, because they have the psychological profile to do it? Such a person is more likely to slip into violence? Finally, does it mean that such a person is forever marked as fundamentally dangerous and unworthy of reintegration?
After the visceral recoil that is an instinct that preserves safety, you have to examine why you are so opposed to working with someone who has committed such a crime. Because we claim to live in a free society that gives people the liberty to pull themselves up from the bootstraps no matter their circumstances, yet discriminates against those who have done the time. Because we claim this society is built upon Christian and post-Christian Enlightenment principles, yet we reject the power of redemption and modern methods of recovery. It's fine to have such an opinion, but you have to justify it, because it's an example of how our society operates.
I absolutely don't believe the penal system makes people safe after they serve their time.
> Is it because that once someone has committed such a terrible crime that they are inevitably going to be able to do so again, because they have the psychological profile to do it?
If a person killed someone without a damn good reason, why would I think they wouldn't do it again?
> Finally, does it mean that such a person is forever marked as fundamentally dangerous and unworthy of reintegration?
Correct. And maybe I'm caught up on the murder aspect. Murder isn't a small little crime. It takes a certain type of person to be able to intentionally murder someone. And maybe most of this thread can be summarized by: I think if you intentionally murder someone without a damn good reason you should spend life in prison. Right now, second degree murder can include that and often is not life in prison.
> I absolutely don't believe the penal system makes people safe after they serve their time.
Fair, and understandable.
> If a person killed someone without a damn good reason, why would I think they wouldn't do it again?
Why would you think they would do it again? Given that someone spent over a decade in prison, shouldn't it have deterred them from killing again?
You'd have to actually look into recidivism rates to see how this works out in reality, unless you believe that for psychological and moral philosophical reasons that such a person who's committed murder is both willing and likely to do so again.
> I think if you intentionally murder someone without a damn good reason you should spend life in prison. Right now, second degree murder can include that and often is not life in prison.
Okay, so your personal standard is that murder does not have to be premeditated to deserve life in prison. That's fair. But I think that goes beyond discomfort with working with such a person who has been through the prison system; that's believing that such a person shouldn't be out of the prison system at all.
I understand your reluctance, but the alternatives to "let the released felon work" are not great.
Are you going to keep them in prison forever? Are you going to let them out, to be jobless?
We should be concerned about creating the best society for everyone. That means sometimes we need to suppress our immediate/unconscious reactions.