When Aubrie Butler applied for nutrition benefits a few years ago, she was honest about her husband’s 2006 felony drug conviction, thinking, “All they can say is ‘no.’”
South Carolina started to give her $800 a month for food, and she was thrilled. She was already earning $16 an hour managing a Salvation Army store near Greenville, South Carolina, to support her family of four. But that boost allowed her “to go through a grocery store and not have to add up every single item” she placed in her shopping cart to ensure she did not exceed her budget. For two years, her family, including two sons, now ages 11 and 16, received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and were recertified along the way.
Then, in June 2022, Butler received a letter from the South Carolina Department of Social Services, saying her family had been granted SNAP benefits in error because her husband’s felony drug conviction forbade his household from participating in the program. Two weeks later, another letter arrived, saying she owed the state nearly $10,000.
“That was so wrong,” Butler said. “‘We’re going to help you out because your family is in need of help,’ but then they found out he was a felon. How do you expect someone who qualifies for food stamps to pay that much back?”
Butler’s family is one of many who have felt the repercussions of laws designed long ago to punish people leaving jails and...
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