After Wal-Mart fires employee, fund raises $20,000
After struggling with addiction, homelessness, and incarceration, Thomas Smith sought to turn a new page with his $9-an-hour gig pushing carts at a Wal-Mart in Albany, N.Y. But after three months on the job, Smith was fired, and many were left scratching their heads at the decision.
According to the Times Union, Smith, 52, was fired for 鈥渞edeeming $2 worth of cans and bottles left behind in a shopping cart at the East Greenbush store for roughly an hour in an entryway next to redemption machines.鈥�
"He was terminated for taking property inside the store," Wal-Mart spokesman Aaron Mullins . Under Wal-Mart policy, that action is on par with theft.
A Wal-Mart spokesman聽 that Smith was fired for redeeming bottles that had been submitted to the customer service desk by customers, making them store property. Bottles found in the parking lot and redeemed by Smith, he said, wouldn鈥檛 have violated store policy.
Smith was interrogated in the security office, eventually signing a statement admitting guilt, despite not having his glasses and being unable to read. Smith did not want to argue and potentially jeopardize his parole.聽Smith served a 15-year sentence for a 2002 armed robbery.
The pubic backlash against the Wal-Mart manager's decision was swift and broad. Some called for a boycott of the retail behemoth and others wrote to store officials; this all comes just days before Black Friday, when bargain discounts are used to buoy sales.
The silver lining? A to support Smith has collected some 900 donations totaling nearly $20,000 by Monday morning, achieving about quadruple its goal in just three days.
It can be extremely difficult for the formerly incarcerated to reintegrate themselves into normal life. found that almost three-quarters of ex-convicts released in 2005 eventually became entwined with the criminal justice system again, and more than half were imprisoned once more.
And as a 鈥淐ompared with the average American, ex-offenders are less educated, less likely to be gainfully employed, and more likely to have a history of mental illness or substance abuse鈥攁ll of which have been shown to be risk factors for recidivism.鈥�
Ex-offenders often have trouble finding employment, housing, and paying off debts typically incurred through their incarceration. Some former inmates have faced tens of thousands of dollars in fees due to so-called 鈥減ay-to-stay鈥� policies. found that 鈥�10 million people owe more than $50 billion in debt resulting from their involvement in the criminal justice system.鈥�
And as 海角大神 reported, President Obama announced this month that all federal agencies were banned from asking applicants about their criminal records as part of an initiative dubbed 鈥渂an the box.鈥�
