Mass Incarceration in the USA Mass incarceration is a term used to depict the increased number of individuals who have been confined in the United States prison system throughout the past forty-years. Mass incarceration is one of the largest human rights issues in the United States to date. This began in the United States in the 1980’s when the standard of living decreased and the War on Crime and Drugs had increased. According to Felice’s study in 2014 there were approximately 6.851 million people incarcerated in the United States; among that large number there were nearly 1 in 36 adults imprisoned. Felice states in her case study, “The United States is currently the world’s leader in incarceration” (page 972). Being the leading country …show more content…
In the 1980’s in the United States, middle classes standard of living decreased. With this decrease of standard of living, there was an increase in individuals who were now living below the poverty line. In the years to follow the income gap between the top percent of Americans and the lower percent of Americans began to grow at a higher rate in the 2000’s the one percent was making significantly more than the bottom forty-percent was making (Felice, 1063). According to Felice, the increase in the incarceration rate correlates directly with the economic times. Felice also explains how mass incarceration is affected through politics; in the past several decades, the United States Presidents have addressed the War on Crime and Drugs and how it has created major issues in the country. The War on Crime and Drugs and mass incarceration of minorities has also created “New Jim Crow Laws.” Those who are in prison or jail are unable to vote while they are incarcerated but this also extends to individuals who have served their time and are no longer within the prison system. It is far more difficult for a criminal who has served time in the prison system to find housing, to find a job and to create a sustainable form of living. By losing these basic rights these individuals are losing their rights to sustainability which is a very basic human