The video that I have chosen is Jayz War on Drugs (Epic Fail). This video informs you on how the war on drugs was started by Richard Nixon in 1971. It also describes how the war on drugs had a negative effect on the African Americans rather it be their families, communities, and schools. The movie The House I live in, describes the war on drugs as black hats vs white hats basically the good guys against the bad guys. In both videos it was discussed how poor neighborhoods were the target for drug bust areas.
The article explores the historical context of drug laws and policies in the U.S. and their disproportionate impact on black communities. It emphasizes the negative effects of the war on drugs on black families, communities, and overall socio-economic mobility, perpetuating the enduring inequalities faced by Americans of color. The article relates to course concepts such as the effects of residential segregation, which has contributed to the development of underclass communities in the United States, and how these communities are disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system. Additionally, the article highlights the systemic racism and discrimination that has existed in the United States, perpetuating the inequalities faced by people of color. It discusses how drug laws have been used as a tool to target and criminalize people of color, while white drug users and sellers have largely been ignored or given lesser punishments.
Since, the majority of African-Americans live in areas of drug involvement, they are more likely to be racially profiled and investigated. This has created an uneven ethnic ratio in prisons and produced stereotypes that affect children that prevent them from becoming abiding citizens.
They also found that a greater numbers of black relatives to whites increased black female conviction rates. In addition to that the number of families receiving welfare also vastly increased the male conviction rate. The author found that being white poor women significantly increased the likelihood of
There are self-report studies as well, that suggest lower levels of black overrepresentation in criminal offense appear to be too involved in serious crimes. Most data comes from a wide variety of the general population. According to NACCP, 5 percent of the world’s population are in the Unites States and has 25 percent of world prisoners. That is, 1 in every 31 adults are in prison, jail, or on probation. The NACCP shares statistical data on race and incarceration.
The justice system implemented drug courts because they were tired of seeing the same faces in court for the exact same reasons. This lead a group of justice professionals to the idea that the system was broken and needed to be fixed because there had to be an alternative solution. Thus, the creation of drug courts which allows individuals with drug problems to attend a facility to kick there addiction instead of being put into jail. The first drug court was established in 1989 in Miami-Dade county, Florida in response to the growing crack cocaine problem in the area. This drug courts sparked a national revolution and the implementation of drug courts have changed millions of lives.
“Drug courts are specialized courts that deal only in substance use/abuse cases. As an alternative to traditional courts, drug courts arrange for treatment for drug offenders. Upon successful completion of the program, some courts then dismiss criminal charges against defendants entirely” (Robinson, 2013). When somebody is accused and charges of drug possession, they have drug courts to handle these cases. If a man experiences the general court system, they will have more sentencing time and the fines are bigger.
The publication by Christina M. Gaudio is critical of the War on Drugs and focuses on its effects on juveniles. She takes time to outline the issues that are present with our current system, and specifically how the system is particularly unjust to juveniles. Gaudio details how the juvenile justice system operates state and federally, then she gives a brief history of the Drug War, the Drug Wars effect on Juveniles, its overall effectiveness, and possible solutions to what she sees as the problem. The Drug War is extremely costly to the taxpayer and is in many respects failing.
If found guilty the sentencing phase is addressed. One of the main functions of criminal sanctions is to offer offenders rehabilitation, retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation, there have been discussions that regard the possibility of differential treatment of groups and the overrepresentation of males and Blacks within the criminal justice system (McNamara, & Burns, 2009). It has been suggested in early research that sentencing and the severity of sentencing for minorities showed signs of discrimination, with more recent research the findings are conflicting. Socioeconomics status influences incarceration for those of the minority
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.
In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in The Era of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, she begins by points out the underlying problem in our Criminal Justice system. The problem being prioritizing the control of those in this racial caste rather than focusing on reasonable punishment and efforts to deter crime. Alexander begins by speaking of her experience as a civil rights lawyer and what soon became her priority after seeing a poster that mentioned how the war on drugs is the new jim crow when it comes to the application and outcome of it. As Alexander points out the correlation between the war on drugs and it being the new jim crow, she discusses the mass incarceration that is prevalent in our society and the number of African American
When there was a misdemeanor drug offence, black defendants were 27 percent more likely than whites to get a plea offer that included incarceration.” This shows unfairness
The legalization of drugs has been at the center of interminable debate. Drugs have widely been perceived as a dominant threat to the moral fabric of society. Drug use has been attributed as the source responsible for a myriad of key issues. For instance, it is believed that drugs have exacerbated the already weak status of mental health in the United States in which some individuals suffering from mental illness administer illicit substances such as heroin or cocaine in an attempt to self-medicate. Moreover, drugs are blamed for turning auspicious members of the community into worthless degenerates.
In the juvenile system, black children are up to 18 times as likely to be sentenced as adults than white children, and African American youth that is accused of felonies are inclined to be viewed as more at fault for their crimes than are white youth. Research that was constructed by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the Center for Children’s Law and Policy suggested that minority youth are presented with harsher treatment than their white peers through almost every stage of the juvenile justice process. The process is already the punishment, but being a minority can make it worse. Minority juveniles are sentenced for longer periods and are less likely to receive alternative sentences or probation compared to white juveniles (Armour & Hammond, 2009,
Therefore, making plea bargains necessary for the courts although more minorities use these plea bargains, which could potentially explain why so many minorities are over represented in the correctional system (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone,
