ABSTRACT
This essay details one man’s experiences with the criminal justice system post-incarceration. After serving several incarcerated sentences and battling heroin addition, Tomas R. Montalvo decided to achieve sobriety and attempt to reintegrate into society. Immediately upon release in 2009, he faced substantial obstacles to successful reintegration. Although initially successful in locating employment and housing, Tomas was met with the reality of his perpetual punishment when 50% of his initial paycheck was garnished to pay a child support debt that accrued during his incarceration. Unbeknownst to him at the time, this child support debt and subsequent unemployment would lead to a series of events that hindered his successful reintegration. He quickly learned that the court system was determined to impede his efforts to change his life. Tomas’ first-person narrative discusses his reentry, the various obstacles he faced, and his life today. His wife, and co-author, provides summaries of Tomas’ narrative in italics and speaks to the impact reentry has on his family.
