Forgot your password?
New user?
State prison plans: mental therapy or torture?
‘Progressive’ City Council abuses vulnerable persons—and free speech
The April 10 immigrants rally in Copley Square
Document Actions
Criminal Offender Record Information… C.O.R.I. and the Lifer
On behalf of Jericho National, Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War locked up in the United States, we recognize the C.O.R.I. regulations passed in May of 1996 in the State of Massachusetts, as another link in the long chain of rules, regulations, and laws that have always been used to keep people of color marginalized and subjugated.
I was released from prison on October 1st, 1991. I enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in 1992, and graduate in June 1996.
Unfortunately, those now leaving prison are not afforded this same opportunity. In May of 1996, one month before I graduated, C.O.R.I. regulations were passed which forbid anyone with a felony conviction to live or work at any place that received State or Federal funding.
The C.O.R.I. laws, which were originally passed in 1972 to protect those who had gone to prison, paid for their crime, and upon re-entry sought a second chance at life, were changed in 1996 to do the opposite. Under the new C.O.R.I. law, those released from prison are stripped of any opportunity they may have had to successfully re-enter society.
In 1985 a Harvard study was done by Peter Eliken. The study showed that the recidivism rate for prisoners who left prison with a college degree was zero. However, that same year, Governor Weld orchestrated a campaign that said people who commit felonies should not be able to go to college on taxpayer’s money. The theme was picked up and echoed throughout the media; Pell Grants for prisoners were cut.
I have a friend; we’ll call him Stanley.
Stanley did twenty-nine years. He was paroled in 2002 and found it difficult to get a job. Finally he got a job, digging ditches in a cemetery. Three days after working there the boss comes and tells him, “sorry, I have to let you go. I ran a C.O.R.I. on you and have to let you go.” Stanley’s back in prison.
The C.O.R.I laws affect people in different ways. I presently work in a law office but cannot visit our clients in prison because of my C.O.R.I. I used to work at American Friends Service Committee, as they only do background checks on people working with children.
I came in contact with many families who were barely making a living in housing projects. Many of these people were forced to move because one of their children had been released from D.Y.S. or county with a C.O.R.I., and since housing projects are federally funded the family was forced to leave.
These are just some of the reasons why we say C.O.R.I. regulations are simply another link in a chain that continues to keep people marginalized and subjugated. Education or the lack of education is another link.
Commutation for Arnold King
On a more positive note, my Brother Arnold King will be coming up for parole on October 25, 2007. He has been incarcerated for 35 years and with your support, has a good chance of being released. Since being incarcerated he has earned his G.E.D., associates degree, bachelors degree, and Masters Degree in Sociology. Fortunately for him he earned these before Pell Grants were cut. If you would like to support his effort, write a letter to the parole board or come to the hearing. Visit his website. Thank you very much.