[Wash Times] The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs is eschewing the terms "felon" and "convict" when officials refer to individuals convicted of crimes, opting instead for less "disparaging labels," Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason announced Wednesday.The Office of Justice Programs plans to substitute terminology such as "person who committed a crime" and "individual who was incarcerated" in speeches and other communications as part of an effort to remove barriers that officials say hinder progress of those who re-enter society after completing their prison sentences.
"I have come to believe that we have a responsibility to reduce not only the physical but also the psychological barriers to reintegration," Ms. Mason wrote Wednesday in a guest post for The Washington Post. "The labels we affix to those who have served time can drain their sense of self-worth and perpetuate a cycle of crime, the very thing reentry programs are designed to prevent."
The announcement follows a series of initiatives introduced as part of the Justice Department’s first National Reentry Week, through which law enforcement officials hope to reduce recidivism by changing features of the criminal justice system.
A criminal record can prevent people from obtaining employment, housing, higher education or credit, the Justice Department noted.