The Mythical Cycle of Incarceration

"Get help!"

I read something yesterday that confused me, so much that I am compelled to share it here. A woman named Attica Scott is running as a Democrat for a congressional seat in Kentucky. As part of her bio, her PR team wrote the following which was included in an email to my husband from one of his rabid lefty relatives:

"Attica’s personal story is compelling. Lots of folks can relate. She knows hardship. Her mother struggled with addiction and died from an overdose when she was 16. Her father was trapped in the cycle of incarceration."

What exactly does it mean to be "trapped in the cycle of incarceration?" Is quicksand involved? Doesn't it just mean the same thing as "repeat offender," or was the man actually trapped, held against his will and forced to commit crimes that landed him back in jail? And finally, is the Cycle of Incarceration a real place, like the Ninth Circle of Hell?

Whatever it is, Ms. Attica's personal story is sad and depressing but would not make me vote for her. Just because someone had a crappy childhood does not necessarily make them fit to make laws for the rest of us. If it did, almost everyone would be in politics.