Obama and the Ex-Convict

It’s a call that’s making noise. This week, Barack Obama called Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team, to talk about his quarterback. The player, who wears number 7, is named Michael Vick. His claim to fame: Considered to be one of the best players in the National Football League, Vick spent 19 months in federal prison for having organized dog fights. His old team, the Atlanta Falcons, broke his contract, and the Philadelphia team gave him a second chance, which created considerable controversy. But Vick, one of the most spectacular players in the NFL, led the Eagles to the semi-finals of the Super Bowl, with a chance of winning the title. Obama congratulated Jeffrey Lurie for having had the courage to give the athlete a second chance.

Why is the 44th president interested in this player who brings out such enthusiasm and disgust in equal measure?

What interests Obama in the situation of an ex-convict is the fate that awaits those who have finished their sentence. There are 1.6 million prisoners in the United States, about 504 Americans per every 100,000 people. If we count those who are sentenced to a year or less, 2.3 million Americans are locked up, or 754 people per every 100,000, according to Randall Sheldon of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. The United States represents about 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of prisoners.

The Department of Justice estimates the annual cost of these incarcerations to be about $60 billion, without the prisoners being prepared to return to civilian life. Michael Vick opens up the debate about the fate of ex-convicts in a non-threatening manner for Americans. Overall, their situation, according to a study by the Pew Center, continues to be clearly worse than the rest of the population, even years after their release. “Past incarceration reduced subsequent wages by 11 percent,” the report notes, “… and reduced yearly earnings by 40 percent.” The current economic crisis amplifies this disadvantage, according to a recent study by the Wall Street Journal.

In a country where two teenagers can be condemned to life in prison for a theft of $11 under the pretext that it was committed with a gun, as with Gladys and Jamie Scott in Mississippi, the idea of giving a second chance to someone who committed a crime doesn’t make citizens jump for joy. By taking interest in the case of an ex-convict football star, Barack Obama engages the conversation on another field where people will undoubtedly listen a little better.