How would you feel if you were thrown in an American prison in the horrendous state they are in today? Many people are content with the prison system we have. In the essay, “Why Prisons Don’t Work,” Wilbert Rideau, an African American man who was convicted of murder at age nineteen, challenges this complacency with the system and claims prisons do not change the convict from the person they were when they committed the crime. Putting uneducated people who made silly, impulsive choices in jail is not the way to make a community safer. Prisons do not offer good rehabilitation programs for inmates.
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.
Although, the justice system impacts many lives, especially within the African American community many individuals are unaware of the effects that the Criminal Justice system can have on offender while incarcerated and even after incarceration. The reading is intended for anyone willing to learn about how are society uses Mass Incarceration as a method to hinder individuals of the African American community from being successful in our society. The author’s writing style is very informative. Michelle Alexander uses clarity and factual information to explain to the reader the many issues that are within our Criminal Justice system. Further, Michelle Alexander is very detailed with the information that she shares within the text.
Video Discussion 5 The United States grapples with a troubling reality: it incarcerates more children than any other developed country. Despite comprising only 4% of the global population, the US accounts for a staggering 22% of the world's prison population. These statistics paint a grim picture of a justice system in need of reform, particularly concerning its treatment of juvenile offenders. Though he came out a changed man, Jeff Wallace's journey through the juvenile justice system shows how much change is needed within the system.
Mass incarceration has become a legal institutionalized system that methodically oppresseses both the criminal and their community. It has become so normalized within those communities and unspoken by the privileged that few dare to speak of it or challenge it. Despite the fact that
I want to work as a jail officer at the Wabash County Jail (WCJ), I want to work there because I feel like I would get a more hands on experience, I want to be able to interact with the inmates and actually get to understand them to become a jail officer I have to be 18 years of age to apply for a jail officer position. Be 21 years of age to apply for a Merit Deputy or Reserve Deputy. Possess a valid Indiana Driver’s License. I have to be of good character, appearance, and personality. I have to be able to perform the essential functions and requirements set forth in the position description.
children have a parent in jail. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone, 72,000 children have lost a parent due to incarceration (Amachi, 2016). Due to the fact that the size of the problem is growing “and its tendency to impact already vulnerable children signals a need to clarify both the unique needs and challenges shared by these children as well as the individual qualities and circumstances that mediate the effect of parental incarceration” (La Vinge, Davies, & Brazzell, 2008, p. 2). Unfortunately, children who suffer from having an incarcerated parent are too often invisible to policy makers and social service organizations. Nature and Scope of Concern
Through holistic programs, personalized care, and community partnerships, we aim to nurture their emotional well-being, foster educational success, and empower them to break the cycle of adversity. We envision creating a world where every child impacted by incarceration finds healing, resilience, and a pathway to a bright and hopeful future. Vision Statement: Empowering Every Child Impacted by Incarceration to Thrive and Flourish. Background: Mass incarceration affects millions of children in contemporary American society, yet little is known about this invisible population. Children of incarcerated parents often face significant emotional, social, and economic challenges.
Seven million, three-hundred thousand children, nationally are affected by parents being incarcerated for days, weeks, months, and even years. For ten days I was affected by my father’s incarceration at the Leavenworth County Jail. To some this is nothing, but to my family, this was a huge ordeal. Not only was he absent from our lives for ten days, which was longer than he’d ever been gone, but we had to transport him there, plus watch as he walked away from his wife, his kids, and his freedom.
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.
We already established that blacks and other minorities in prison do not receive the same treatment as white inmates. The other problem is that prisoners have almost no legal representation. Although inmates have the right to appeal in court and be represented by a lawyer, rarely would they find a lawyer willing to help. According to a study done in The New York Times article, out of the tens of thousands of inmates who got disciplinary tickets in 2014 and 2015, only 280 were represented by Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York. Now that we’ve identified the problem, we can implement the solution.
In the United States, mass incarceration is at an all- time high and socially concentrated. Nowhere in the world is as high as our prison system. Since 1970, incarceration rates have quintupled, while the U.S. population itself has only grown by about 40% (Alexander,2010). The U.S. census report said black Americans were incarcerated in state prisons at an average rate of 5.1 times that of white Americans. In some states that rate was 10 times or more.
Introduction For most of my life I have been curious about what it was like inside of a jail or prison. Of course I never wanted to be an inmate, but I was interested in seeing it through the eyes of a Correctional Officer. About four years ago, I met Jess Greenlee at an anime convention and immediately we became friends, she was still in college at the time to become a correctional officer, and boy did I have questions for her. Throughout these four years, Officer Greenlee knew of my curiosity, so when the time came to do my job shadow, she was the first person to step up to the plate.
From a young age, I have always had a deep passion for helping people and making a positive impact in my community. Growing up, I admired law enforcement officers for their dedication to protecting and serving their communities, and I knew that I wanted to follow in their footsteps. My desire to study law enforcement is driven by my innate desire to help others. I believe that law enforcement officers play a crucial role in maintaining peace and order in society, and I am eager to be a part of that mission. Whether it is responding to emergencies, investigating crimes, or simply patrolling the streets, I know that I will be making a difference in the lives of people in my community every day.
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.
