Why are some prisoners afraid to walk out and be free after they are held in prison for a few years?

Answer 1

because they are afriad of how they will be able to survive on their own, they are also scared of what they might find differently in the world since they have been gone.

Answer 2

Quick clarification from someone who has moved from "the inside to the outside." They are not afraid to be free.
They are just afraid of society and whether they will adjust to it.
Three things have happened in a recently-released persons life:
1. They didn't fit into society in the first place. That is proven by the fact that society locked them up. They couldn't cope under the rules of society and were therefore taken out of it.
2. They adopted to a new society with very different set of rules. For the most criminal, this was easy because the rules are very similar to those they lived by. For other, not so easy. Either way, there was an adjustment and the new society does not match the outside world.
3. They were released. In nearly all cases, they had no preparation except for anticipation. Remember the first time you had sex if you think you need clarification on this point. They were not ready, but here they are full of fears and doubts. I didn't cut it the first time; what makes me think I can this time? I'm used to this system, what make me think I can handle a new one?
and if they don't adjust, they break the rules, they go back, and the miserable, unfree, comfortable existence continues.

Answer 3

They are giving up a world where they are fed and clothed and told what to do and when to do it for a world where they have no home, no clothes, no food, and no job. If their families don't give them support, they are very likely to commit another crime and go back in where they are relatively safe and warm and they know the rules.

If industry was smart, they'd hire ex-cons for isolated work sites and provide housing, food, and entertainment on site. They could ease their workers back into regular culture with a hefty bank roll to back them. Of course, many workers might just go out and blow the money and come right back to the company where they know the rules, but that's better than going back to prison.

Answer 4

In prison, there is structure, routine and order. Their meals are provided, their housing is provided. Once they get out, they have to figure out how to do all that stuff on their own, with little help. Perhaps they're afraid that they will fail at this, or don't have the skills to pull it off, or that they'll make bad choices and end up back in the clink.

Either that, or they just REALLY love takin' it up the poop chute and are afraid they'll miss it too much.

Answer 5

security. they are leaving a secure world for an insecure one. when one is locked away for a while(prision, juvie, hospital, mental illness facility) you adapt to a completly controled environment. At first you hate the loss of privacy and freedom of choice. Then after a while you come to depend on those in charge of you. You forget how to make your own choices. You are never alone to think or act. Then one day here you are, no control, no help, no security. You have to relearn how to think, act, and decide. All of a sudden you have alone time and thoughts run rampid. You think about everything, Everything scares you because it is almost like you have never done it before. One may never forget how to ride a bicycle but the skills involved become rusty. For an excellent example watch "Shawshank Redemption"

Answer 6

1) Bring back old habits--when you don't have temptations, it's easier to avoid what put you in there in the first place.

2) No certainities on anything--you don't know where you'll stay, how you'll get a job, etc.

3) No more free food or free board.

Answer 7

for some, it is a traumatic change---open spaces, no oversight 24/7--that some can not handle it. Sort of like having agoraphobia. Others just cant function on the outside.

Answer 8

The same reason I believe a person is afraid but excited to walk out of their parents' home--

Answer 9

Most prisoners who have committed a crime suffer from a mental complex called victimphobia. They are dim-witted because they got caught, and paranoid that someone from the victims family will do harm to them. Also, lack of sleep and sunlight create anxiety complex. Psyhiatrists treat both these maladies with lots of drugs, but there is no cure.

A good swim and repeated cold showers sometimes help.

Answer 10

The same reason alot of people are afraid to go into prision. If all you know is the free world you are probably afraid of prision, and if all you know is prision you are probably afraid of the free world. Either way you are outside of your comfort zone.

Answer 11

In prison some one tells you when to wake up, when to eat, when to shower, when to go to sleep.....after being locked up for so long, they dont remember how to take care of themselves. Its hard for them to adjust back to a normal life style.