Essay On Mass Incarceration

The U.S. criminal justice system has many problems and flaws. First, the percentage of black people in the prison population is much higher than the total amount of black people as a percent of the United States population. Second, mass incarceration ruins lives and is unjust. Finally, the amount of money the United States of America is spending on prison is a concern.

The U.S has 5% of the world's population but has 25% of the world's prison population. The total incarcerated population in the U.S. is 2.4 million. One of the reasons for the mass incarceration is the unreasonable laws about non-violent drug offenses. In 2005, 4 out of 5 drug arrests were for possession, not sales. In the 1990s, marijuana possession accounted for nearly 80%

Tens of thousands of people go to jail every year without ever talking to a lawyer or going to trial(dilmon). The total true cost associated with mass incarceration is 1 trillion dollars. Another reason mass incarceration is costing the U.S. way too much money is the housing of inmates too long in relation to their offenses. More than 96% of convictions in the federal system result from guilty pleas rather than decisions by juries. Conservative estimates put innocent people who plead guilty between 2% and 5%, which translates to tens of thousands of innocent people behind bars today. Eighty percent of defendants cannot afford a lawyer. Due to mandatory minimum sentences, they don't have a chance for early release or reward for good behavior. Keeping inmates in prison when they are able to assimilate into society causes mass incarceration and attributes to the high cost. There has been an increase in prison inmates by 500% over the past 30 years(Dimon). Three out of four young black men in Washington, D.C., can expect to serve time behind bars. This is despite the fact that people of all races use and sell drugs at the same rate. African-Americans comprised 12% of regular drug users, but almost 40% of those arrested for