What is Incarceration?

Let me see if I understand this correctly, after a person has served time incarcerated, that person gets "a piece" of paper that they can carry around with them that identifies them as a "SAFE CONVICT" per WTNH News Channel 8 this morning. That piece of paper indicates they are not a threat to society and they can work or get an apartment???

I'm not sure that someone should have to carry around a piece of paper that (1) identifies them as a "Safe Convict" (what is a safe convict); (2) What is the purpose of incarceration for a crime if when you're released you're still [Locked out]?

In 2000 the American Society of Criminology published a White Paper that described the philosophy of incarceration and its purpose as "retribution" which mean to repay. But it appears that folks are often times "repaying" repeatedly. It also states, "More recently, a heightened fear of crime among the voting public coupled with economic prosperity has created a criminal justice system that imprisons persons who have never been convicted of violent crimes and who have had no prior convictions." Emphasis on "The Voting Public".

Free at Last - Slaves were issued "Freedom Papers" identifying them as "Free People of Color". This document protected the slave from being "re-slaved".  Seems to me the "Safe Convict" papers keep the "Convict" "en-slaved to the system".

Definitions:

1. Inmate - refers to one of the residents of a dwelling;
2. Prisoner - refers to someone who has been deprived of the liberty or freedom against his/her wishes and is confined
3. Convict - refers to a person convicted of a crime

If the 3rd definition is true then a person that must carry around a "piece of paper" to prove they are a "Safe Convict" would imply they are still "Convicted".