My hypothesis is that your last observation is because of the ostracization (or separation?) of those individuals from society. How many people does the average

My hypothesis is that your last observation is because of the ostracization (or separation?) of those individuals from society. How many people does the average middle-class person know that have been to jail/prison for anything longer than a night? There's a real disparity between what people perceive a prison sentence and its effects as, and what it actually is. Combine that ignorance with the hard on we as a country have for imprisonment, for various reasons, and it seems like that's what you get.