MovieChat Forums > I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) Discussion > Do criminal records create more recedivi...

Do criminal records create more recedivists ?

posted 11 years ago by JustMammal
2 replies | jump to latest

You don't have to escape from prison to be forced to steal for a living , merely having a criminal record closes so many doors in employment and housing that criminals are forced to reofend.

Yes some may be resourceful enough to succeed against the odds. But most criminals are less resourceful and intelligent than the average person is. And I just don't think they are given a fair chance to succeed when released. So we as a society prime them for failure!

[–] sonofbeach-sheet 11 years ago

With the position Allen was in, he probably had not choice but to steal in order to survive.

The movie had a sad ending as opposed to the real case of Robert Elliot Burns. I always made believe that Allen was found in New Jersey later on like Burns was and protected as long as he stayed there. And eventually given a pardon years later and with chain gangs abolished

But like the Cool Hand Luke movie, they probably compromised and gave leg chains only to those who attempted to escape

[–] marktayloruk (2375) 3 years ago

There's far too much legal discrimination against them