Ga. officials urge businesses to hire ex-prisoners

ATLANTA - The top federal prosecutor in northern Georgia and the state's governor say the state and federal governments need to focus on helping former prisoners readjust to life outside prison.

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates and Gov. Nathan Deal spoke Wednesday at a summit on re-entry. They urged business leaders to give people who have been convicted of a felony a fair chance in the hiring process.

Yates said that simply prosecuting and jailing people is not going to make communities safer. She said effective prevention and re-entry measures are also needed.

Deal said the state has a moral and financial obligation to ensure that prisoners are better equipped and more skilled when they come out than when they were locked up.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/2/270794