From public housing to grant programs to welfare assistance, having a felony record can prevent you from accessing government support programs. For people reentering society, these obstacles only exacerbate other difficulties in life after prison.
Without significant reform, formerly incarcerated people will continue to have a high risk for recidivism. Now, some states are focusing their justice reform efforts on expunging records and eliminating barriers for those with criminal records.
The 14th Amendment officially ended the abhorrent "three-fifths compromise." But some say it lives on in the form of prison gerrymandering.