
Prisoners' Family Members Also 'Serve Time' When Relatives Go To Jail, Experts Say
Anyone familiar with the U.S. criminal justice system has likely heard the expression, “When a person gets sentenced to prison, the whole family serves the time.” Thanks to our nation’s harsh sentencing laws, lots of families are serving time. The cost to the government of these “lock ’em up and throw away the key” policies, in terms of skyrocketing prison construction costs, is well documented. Less appreciated are the social, emotional and economic impacts these policies ha