Article Summary: The Misuse Of The Jail System

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I have written this memo to inform you about the misuse of jails and give you my opinions on how to either completely stop or at least minimize the deficiencies in the jail system. We need help to do this and we know that you have some excellent resources to help the cause. I recently read a breathtaking study done by Vera that focused on what is truly wrong with the jail system. The system needs a great amount of reform to decrease the alarming amount of jail admissions in this country. One of the major problems with the system is that it seems as if they are trying to keep the people inside of jail instead of helping them become rehabilitated and become a productive part of society.
The article identified two main problems with jails in …show more content…

It is unfair to keep people in prison simply because they cannot afford bail. Those who are not risks to society don’t need to be held there. They are being subjected to the unfair consequences that people being in jail are exposed to. They have a harder time getting jobs and earning as much in these jobs, even though they have not been convicted of any crime just like most of society. The unfairness of the bail system definitely impacts the working poor. These people may lose their jobs for being kept in jail without being convicted or in some cases not even being charged with a crime. Also these people’s families are affected by being put into terrible situations because this person cannot support them. To fine-tune the system, we need to allow these people to remain free while their cases are pending. In addition, more discretion needs to be given to judges so that they can sentence these people into other non-jail alternatives. These include drug treatment programs and supervised release. Alternatives to prison like drug treatment, mental health care, and intensive rehab must be used much more often. Sentencing people to these programs will lead to a decrease in jail populations by not putting them there in the first place and by reducing recidivism. This process is called marshalling resources. The police and court system need to do a better job using the resources that they have at hand in order to better the community. …show more content…

It seems as if people are continually being accused of things and then the police and prosecutors do anything in their power to make their cases stronger in order to prosecute these offenders. This can be fixed by making prosecutors and police more accountable for their actions. Many prosecutors will do everything in their power, even illegal things, to ensure that someone gets convicted of a crime. There must be more internal and external investigation into prosecutor’s actions. There should be harsh punishment of prosecutors for not overturning all evidence. This can be ensured with more oversight that can determine if evidence has been withheld. There has been an insane amount of misconduct among prosecutors and that must be stopped to make the criminal justice system more reliable and fair to

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