More handpicked essays just for you.
Advantages to alternatives to incarceration
Mass incarceration of minorities
Reasons for alternatives to incarceration
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Over the last thirty years, the prison population in the United States has increased more than seven-fold to over two million people, including vastly disproportionate numbers of minorities and people with little education. For some racial and educational groups, incarceration has become a depressingly regular experience, and prison culture and influence pervade their communities. Almost 60 percent of black male high school drop-outs in their early thirties have spent time in prison. In Punishment and Inequality in America, sociologist Bruce Western explores the recent era of mass incarceration and the serious social and economic consequences it has wrought.
The last of which causes the destabilization of communities and an increase in imprisonment of vulnerable populations, thus increasing profits and starting the cycle all over again. Reflection of Readings in Relation to the Course This cycle is mirrored by another topic discussed in class — the school-to-prison pipeline. The exponential prison expansion and its consequent leaching of community development funding means that resources like affordable housing, recreational amenities, accessible food, and available education, which racialized and disadvantaged populations rely on, cease to exist (p. 88). Without said resources, and with the ever-present racism and over-policing that these groups experience, those vulnerable become the “perfect candidates for prison” (p. 16). Once incarcerated it becomes hard to gain an education, let alone transferable skills which would help one work, and financially reintegrate into outside society (Jackson et al., 2022, pp.
The Jail and The New Jim Crow both describe how our justice system is generally based on people’s conceptions of things, and how our own justice system is creating a new way of discriminating people by labeling, incarcerating the same disreputables and lower class that have come to be labeled as the rabble class. In chapter two, of The New Jim Crow, supporting the claim that our justice system has created a new way of segregating people; Michelle Alexander describes how the process of mass incarceration actually works and how at the end the people that we usually find being arrested, sent to jail, and later on sent to prison, are the same low class persons’ with no knowledge and resources. These people commit petty crimes that cost them their
Annotated Bibliography Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Alexander opens up on the history of the criminal justice system, disciplinary crime policy and race in the U.S. detailing the ways in which crime policy and mass incarceration have worked together to continue the reduction and defeat of black Americans.
We live in a society where ethnic minorities are target for every minimal action and/or crimes, which is a cause to be sentenced up to 50 years in jail. African Americans and Latinos are the ethnic minorities with highest policing crimes. In chapter two of Michelle Alexander’s book, The Lockdown, we are exposed to the different “crimes” that affects African American and Latino minorities. The criminal justice system is a topic discussed in this chapter that argues the inequality that people of color as well as other Americans are exposed to not knowing their rights. Incarceration rates, unreasonable suspicions, and pre-texts used by officers are things that play a huge role in encountering the criminal justice system, which affects the way
### Thesis Statement: " The criminal justice system in the United States is fundamentally flawed and biased, leading to unjust outcomes and perpetuating systemic inequalities. This article delves into the shortcomings of the system, highlighting issues such as institutional racism, inadequate legal representation, punitive measures over rehabilitation, and the school-to-prison pipeline. By examining these critical flaws, it becomes evident that comprehensive reform is necessary to ensure fairness, equity, and justice for all individuals involved. --- In light of established evidence pointing to the faults within the criminal justice system, it is imperative to acknowledge the pressing need for reform.
The criminal justice system is far from being perfect in terms of convicting all of those who have committed any sort of crime, whether it’s a crime in the suites or a crime in the streets. Although, one major area that requires improvement is the need for increased funding to prevent crime instead of reacting towards it. As Irvin Waller (2014) stated, “Preventing crime before it happens is cost-effective and also cost-beneficial, as healthy kids and youth turn into productive adults later on” (p. 237). If cities and states invested their resources into early education, housing and social services, neighborhood watches, and sports programs, instead of building more prisons, the less likely the impacted individuals are to end up there. Many will think that this is crazy, because how can you prevent crime by offering preschool or other services to those who require it the most?
In this article, the Miller explores the connection of racial disparity between dark, Latinos and white in the American Criminal Justice structures. The article argues that the racial disparity occurs on the basis of wrongdoing, crime, and imprisonment on African American, Latinos as compared with whites. Additionally, it claims the relationship of race and crime rates that conclude that black, Latinos receive high severe punishment than whites. As indicated by the Miller, the crime rates for blacks are seven times higher than whites. It also measures the effect of the high crime rate on racial minorities that they face significant issue for kids, families, marriage, neighborhood inconvenience, and neediness.
The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.
Legalized Discrimination is Contributing to Mass Incarceration Mass incarceration has been an issue for decades, with no clear solution in sight. One major turning point in the development of mass incarceration, based on reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, is the idea of legalized discrimination. Alexander said, “What is painfully obvious when one steps back from individual cases and specific policies is that the system of mass incarceration operated with stunning efficiency to sweep people of color off the streets, lock them in cages, and then release them into an inferior second-class status” (pg. 100). This idea of legalized discrimination allows police officers to intentionally target black individuals because of prejudices
The amount of mass incarceration in the United States as reached an all time high over the years. Mass Incarceration is the incarceration of a person or race based off of them being different and can be identified as a trend among law enforcements. These tensions have reached a certain extent and has received the attention of American citizens and the nation’s government. The laws of the United States seems fair, however with the enforcement of these laws, specific groups are targeted and abused by them daily.
The appropriateness of the current situation in American criminal justice is a matter of ongoing dialogue and evaluation. Public opinion, advocacy movements, legal developments, and policy initiatives all contribute to shaping the direction of criminal justice reform. It is a complex and evolving field, and there are diverse perspectives on what changes are necessary to create a more just and equitable system. Ultimately, it is up to individuals, communities, policymakers, and society as a whole to engage in informed discussions, assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, and work towards a criminal justice system that aligns with their values, promotes public safety, and ensures justice for
Given the data I collected and my knowledge on sentencing laws, prison programs, and poverty reduction policies, I will advocate for a three pronged policy that address larger systemic issues facing our criminal justice system. My policy would address sentencing laws, social access for formerly incarcerated people, and transformative prison practices that would remove the closely associated link between mass incarceration and
Through the process of how legislators have defined crime, who police have arrested, and how media has reported crime, the typical criminal has been identified as young, urban, poor, minorities. President Barack Obama feels the same way. In a interview with Vice, Obama described how he believes the system is biased in a way that African American youth are more likely to be suspended for school, arrested, charged, and prosecuted more aggressively, than white American youth. Reiman would agree, and would add that a reason for this is that African Americans are disproportionately poor, and the poor tend to be arrested by the criminal justice system more frequently than their contribution to the crime problem would warrant. Then the question arises on why African Americans remain in poverty.
Over 2 million people are currently being held in United States prisons, and while the U.S. may only hold 5% of the world’s population, it houses 25% of its prisoners. In the past few years, America’s prison system has fallen under public scrutiny for it’s rising incarceration rate and poor statistics. Many Americans have recently taken notice of the country’s disproportionate prisoner ratio, realized it’s the worst on the planet, and called for the immediate reformation of the failing system. The war on drugs and racial profiling are some of the largest concerns, and many people, some ordinary citizens and others important government figures, are attempting to bring change to one of the country 's lowest aspects.
