Abstract
Today's American criminal justice system is generating more ex-criminals than ever before, due to increasingly punitive sentencing, the increasing criminalization of formerly noncriminal acts, and the increasing federalization of criminal matters. At the same time, advances in record-keeping and computer technology have made life more difficult for ex-convicts. This article examines the hardships faced by American ex-convicts reentering the non-custodial community both at present and in the past. It concludes that modern ex-convicts face more difficulties than those of past generations, because 1) a greater number of laws that restrict their occupational and social lives, and 2) better data collection and transfer among criminal justice jurisdictions make evading or escaping from one's criminal past more difficult. The result of these coalescing trends is that American society is increasingly forming a hierarchical order of citizenship, with long-term negative economic and social consequences for both ex-offenders and the broader community.

Roger Roots
Graduate Assistant, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Roger Roots is a graduate assistant in the Department of Sociology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is presently a doctoral student in the Sociology Department.