Effects Of Mass Incarceration In America

Kieran Thompson
Ms. Klein
E129
15 March 2018
The Prison Epidemic in the United States As long as humans are still truly human, the world will never be without crime, but the current prison system established in the United States takes advantage of the less fortunate and those who are of a minority race and puts them in prison by the masses. But mass incarceration needs to end, and people are starting to understand that mass incarceration is an unjust practice because of its biased laws and regulations, it’s terrible effect on the finances of the average American and its extremely negative effect on the minorities and juveniles of America of America.
The background and surface facts of mass incarceration begin with how large the American Prison

The African American and Hispanic population have it the worst, “Though Blacks and Hispanics represent approximately 30 percent of the population; they compromise over half of those incarcerated” (Economic Perspectives on Incarceration 29). By being a minority in America someone would be at a severe disadvantage just by being of ethnic background. The African American population could have it the worst because currently there are more African Americans in jail or on probation than the entire slave population in 1850. (Duvernay 0:47:24). It could be argued that both the Hispanics and the African Americans commit more crime and therefore are incarcerated often, but that is not entirely true, “Although the majority of drug users and dealers nationwide are white… three-fourths of all people imprisoned for drug offenses have been black or Latino” (Rigelhaupt). Also, people with low economic status are negatively affected as well, “Them without the capital get the punishment” (qtd in Stevenson 6). Equal justice should not have to be something to hope for just by being a person of ethnic background or someone with a lower income. The effect Mass incarceration has had on the minorities and people with lower income in America proves that mass incarceration is unjust without even examining other facts and

In places like Chicago with high crime rates a study was conducted and found that juvenile detention increases recidivism by 22-26 percent and lowers chance of getting a high school degree by thirteen percent (Economic Perspectives on Incarceration 40). With all these teens getting into trouble at such a youthful age, their chance of being arrested again increases and as their chance of getting a high school degree decreases. There is less opportunity for young people every day and their only disadvantage is being a minority. By losing out on so many opportunities at an early age they are more likely to be incarcerated later in life which does not help the problem of incarcerating too many people. The worst part is that by incarcerating all these people both rightfully and unjustly, it just makes them more likely to go back to prison later, “70 percent of released [prisoners] are rearrested within five years of release” (Economic Perspectives on Incarceration 39). Clearly, long prison sentences do not make a criminal act any better than they did before, which is the opposite of a corrections department. But juveniles are also affected by mass incarceration