PBS高端访谈:服刑对家庭的影响（在线收听）

Judy Woodruff: The effects of mass incarceration in this country are felt by many more people than those convicted of crimes. Student Reporting Labs, which is our journalism training program, explores how the criminal justice system can create obstacles for kids and families. It's part of our series all this week Searching For Justice.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：在这个国家，比被判有罪的人更多地感受到大规模监禁的影响。“学生报告实验室”是我们的新闻培训项目，探索刑事司法系统如何为儿童和家庭制造障碍。这是本周我们系列节目的一部分。

Mary Williams: It's estimated that nearly half of all U.S. children have at least one parent with a criminal record. And, for the families, the negative effects of incarceration continue far beyond time served. Seventeen-year-old Xcellence Glenn's father was released from prison in 2005 following a conviction from drug and firearms possession, but the family had a hard time finding a home last year. More than once, they were all set to move, only to find out their rental application was denied. How did it feel to pack up all that stuff, and then unpack, repack and figure out your living situation?

玛丽·威廉姆斯：据估计，近一半的美国儿童至少有一方父母有犯罪记录。而且，对这些家庭来说，监禁的负面影响远远超过了服刑时间。17岁埃克伦斯·格伦的父亲在2005年因持有毒品和枪支被定罪后被释放出狱，但去年他们一家很难找到一个家。不止一次，他们都准备搬家，结果发现他们的租房申请被拒绝了。把所有的东西打包，然后打开包装，重新包装，弄清楚你的生活状况是什么感觉？

Xcellence Glenn: It was kind of hard, because where we was before, it was kind of packed together, since we was a big family. And we were hoping to move somewhere bigger.

埃克伦斯·格伦：这有点难，因为我们以前在一起，因为我们是一个大家庭。我们希望搬到更大的地方。

Mary Williams: Xcellence's mom, Sheena Meade, was hesitant to tell her kids the real reason things weren't working out.

玛丽·威廉姆斯：埃克伦斯的妈妈，谢娜·米德，犹豫着告诉她的孩子事情没有解决的真正原因。

Sheena Meade: We had met all the financial requirements. Credit was great. We always paid our rent on time. But there was something that was preventing us from getting the homes we wanted.

谢娜·米德：我们满足了所有的财务要求。信用很好。我们总是按时付房租。但是有些事情阻止了我们得到我们想要的房子。

Mary Williams: That something was her husband Desmond Meade's criminal record.

玛丽·威廉姆斯：她丈夫德斯蒙德·米德的犯罪记录。

Sheena Meade: On the application, it says, have you ever been arrested or convicted of a felony conviction? And you have to check that box.

谢娜·米德：申请书上说，你是否曾被逮捕或被判重罪？你必须勾选那个方框。

Mary Williams: But, by this time, Desmond had become a successful lawyer and a prominent activist. Last year, he was named as one of "TIME" magazine's 100 most influential people in the world for leading an effort in Florida to restore voting rights to over 1.4 million people with past felony convictions. Sheena says the whole family has been part of that work, advocating for reforms to the criminal justice system, but their rental applications kept getting denied.

玛丽·威廉姆斯：但此时，德斯蒙德已成为一名成功的律师和著名的活动家。去年，他被《时代》杂志评为全球最具影响力的100位人物之一，因为他在佛罗里达州领导了一项努力，恢复了140多万曾被判重罪的人的投票权。谢娜说，整个家庭都参与了这项工作，倡导改革刑事司法系统，但他们的租房申请一直遭到拒绝。

Sheena Meade: And so we would come home and have to tell the kids, well, this house didn't go through, after all the excitement, or this house didn't go through. And the ironic thing about it, it was right after myself and the children, we had celebrated. Desmond had got his own day. The mayor and the commissioner had deemed Orange County Desmond Meade Day, which is September 10.

谢娜·米德：所以我们回家后必须告诉孩子们，好吧，这房子没有通过，在所有的兴奋之后，或者这个房子没有通过。讽刺的是，这是在我和孩子们之后，我们庆祝的。德斯蒙德有他自己的一天。市长和专员把橘子郡的德斯蒙德·米德节定为9月10日。

Mary Williams: Looking back on that and looking at the work you do, how does that feel? Like, are you angry at that?

玛丽·威廉姆斯：回顾过去，看看你的工作，感觉如何？你生气了吗？

Sheena Meade: Yes, it always gets me upset. It makes me more upset when I think about other people who are not as fortunate or who doesn't have the time or the resources to take all that time and to keep going back and forth.

谢娜·米德：是的，总是让我心烦。当我想到其他没有那么幸运的人，或者没有时间或资源来花那么多时间和资源来回奔波的人时，我会更加不安。

Mary Williams: Sheena says they finally got approved for a place after she went directly to the owner of a home they were interested in and shared a letter about the family, along with press clippings showing all their accomplishments.

玛丽·威廉姆斯：谢娜说，当她直接去找他们感兴趣的房子的主人，分享了一封关于这个家庭的信，以及展示他们所有成就的剪报之后，他们终于获准入住。

Sheena Meade: No one should have to have to do that to have affordable or safe housing, but that was our reality.

谢娜·米德：任何人都不应该为了拥有负担得起的或安全的住房而不得不这样做，但这是我们的现实。

Mary Williams: Xcellence wants other kids to know there's no shame in having a parent with a criminal record.

玛丽·威廉姆斯：埃克伦斯想让其他孩子知道有犯罪记录的父母是没有羞耻心的。

Xcellence Glenn: Some kids, they don't really want to talk about it. They think that it's bad. They feel embarrassed. But it's not something you should be embarrassed about.

埃克伦斯·格伦：有些孩子，他们真的不想谈这个。他们认为这很糟糕。他们感到尴尬。但这不是你应该感到尴尬的事。

Sheena Meade: Not only are people prevented from voting. They're prevented from finding homes and houses and living where they want freely because of a system. I think that could have been a missed opportunity to really talk to our children. And that's what I'm hoping that others will hear from this, is, like, let's not miss those opportunities to inform and educate our community and our families, instead of shying away from it.

谢娜·米德：人们不仅不能投票。由于体制的原因，他们无法找到自己的家和房子，无法自由地生活在他们想要的地方。我认为那可能是一个错过了和孩子们真正交谈的机会。这就是我希望其他人能从中听到的，比如，让我们不要错过那些向我们的社区和家庭提供信息和教育的机会，而不是回避。

Mary Williams: For the "PBS NewsHour" Student Reporting Labs, I'm Mary Williams.

玛丽·威廉姆斯：在“PBS新闻小时”学生报告实验室，我是玛丽·威廉姆斯。