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How mass incarceration began essay
Issue concerning war against drugs
How mass incarceration began essay
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Go into any poor neighborhood in the United States and ask around about incarceration. Nearly everyone you will encounter will describe a relative or friend in prison or recount his own experiences. Most of those effected by mass imprisonment are incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses (The House I Live In). Although an outsider may be appalled, these interactions are relatively unsurprising when the facts behind mass imprisonment are reveled. The House I Live In explains the culture that has developed around the justice system, and in particular, the drug war. Since the 1970’s, the war on drugs has cost trillions of dollars and severely restricted the freedoms of those convicted (The House I Live In). One cause of mass imprisonment, and
Mandatory minimums for controlled substances were first implemented in the 1980s as a countermeasure for the hysteria that surrounded drugs in the era (“A Brief History,” 2014). The common belief was that stiff penalties discouraged people from using drugs and enhanced public safety (“A Brief History,” 2014). That theory, however, was proven false and rather than less illegal drug activity, there are simply more people incarcerated. Studies show that over half of federal prisoners currently incarcerated are there on drug charges, a 116 percent percentage rise since 1970 (Miles, 2014). Mass incarceration is an ever growing issue in the United States and is the result of policies that support the large scale use of imprisonment on
In recent years, there has been controversy over mass incarceration rates within the United States. In the past, the imprisonment of criminals was seen as the most efficient way to protect citizens. However, as time has gone on, crime rates have continued to increase exponentially. Because of this, many people have begun to propose alternatives that will effectively prevent criminals from merely repeating their illegal actions. Some contend that diversion programs, such as rehabilitation treatment for drug offenders, is a more practical solution than placing mentally unstable individuals into prison. By helping unsteady criminals regain their health, society would see an exceptional reduction in the amount of crimes committed. Although some
Mass incarceration has caused the prison’s populations to increase dramatically. The reason for this increase in population is because of the sentencing policies that put a lot of men and women in prison for an unjust amount of time. The prison population has be caused by periods of high crime rates, by the medias assembly line approach to the production of news stories that bend the truth of the crimes, and by political figures preying on citizens fear. For example, this fear can be seen in “Richard Nixon’s famous campaign call for “law and order” spoke to those fears, hostilities, and racist underpinnings” (Mauer pg. 52). This causes law enforcement to focus on crimes that involve violent crimes/offenders. Such as, gang members, drive by shootings, drug dealers, and serial killers. Instead of our law agencies focusing their attention on the fundamental causes of crime. Such as, why these crimes are committed, the family, and preventive services. These agencies choose to fight crime by establishing a “War On Drugs” and with “Get Tough” sentencing policies. These policies include “three strikes laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and juvenile waives laws which allows kids to be trialed as adults.
According to Mark Early, president of the Prison Fellowship International, the Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows that there are 19 states that have prisons operating at 100 percent capacity and another 20 are falling right behind them. There is no wonder why the overcrowding of prisons is being discussed everywhere. Not to mention how serious this predicament is and how serious it can get. Many of the United States citizens don’t understand why this is such a serious matter due to the fact that some of them believe it’s not their problem. Therefore they just don’t care about it. Also, some Americans may say that they don’t care about what could happen to the inmates due to repercussions of overcrowding, because it’s their own fault. In order to cure this growing problem people have to start caring about what’s going on, even if it’s to people who might deserve it.
Mass incarceration has put a large eye-sore of a target on the United States’ back. It is hurting our economy and putting us into more debt. It has considerable social consequences on children and ex-felons. Many of these incarcerations can be due to the “War on Drugs”. We should contract the use of incarceration.
I base my support of the decriminalization of all drugs on a principle of human rights, but the horror and frustration with which I voice this support is based on practicality. The most tangible effect of the unfortunately labeled "Drug War" in the United States is a prison population larger than Russia's and China's, and an inestimable death toll that rivals the number of American casualties from any given war, disease or catastrophe.
The War on Drugs is believed to help with many problems in today’s society such as realizing the rise of crime rates and the uprooting of violent offenders and drug kingpin. Michelle Alexander explains that the War on Drugs is a new way to control society much like how Jim Crow did after the Civil War. There are many misconceptions about the War on Drugs; commonly people believe that it’s helping society with getting rid of those who are dangerous to the general public. The War on Drugs is similar to Jim Crow by hiding the real intention behind Mass Incarceration of people of color. The War on Drugs is used to take away rights of those who get incarcerated. When they plead guilty, they will lose their right to vote and have to check application
The war on drugs, which started in the United States, has become widespread in many countries around the world, and increasingly so in Canada (Odeh, 2013). It has been shown that the war on drugs is an inefficient way to minimize or even control drug use and possession (Odeh, 2013). This begs the question then as to why the war on drugs is still being waged with increasing force. The United States, which started the war on drugs, now has the highest prison population per capita in the world, with 730 of every 100,000 people imprisoned (Odeh, 2013). Furthermore, more than half of these people in prison are serving sentences for drug crimes (Odeh, 2013). Despite the fact that it costs taxpayers a lot of money, with no results; drug use and the amount of drugs in the US hasn’t decreased, the war on drugs has not stopped. While some Americans, even very conservative ones (CBC, 2011) have come to the conclus...
War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration is based the socioeconomic of justice elements which is Historical, Politics, Economics, and Racial. The socioeconomic of justice does provide prove on what groups of people will end up in prison and what groups of people that doesn’t. The Historical element of has been going on since the early 1920s and has gradually gotten worse over the decades. It can also be traced back to slavery in the south and Jim Crows 1978 laws some being the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and Young Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act 1964. This will bring in the elements of Racial and Politics of the War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration. Racial is an element that is also connected to the Historical aspect of the socioeconomic of justice. With Racial and Politics it shows that the poor class Blacks and Latinos are the two main groups of people that are known for being incarcerated for drugs and misdemeanors. Such as, if a Black or Latino man is found with possession of crack a drug that is found frequently in poor communities will receive a higher sentence than a white man that
At even the national level, the “war on drugs” was just as detrimental. Reagan's narcotics policy had doubled both drug arrests and the prison population in the US. Under him, the media propaganda helped ignite public concern – sometimes bordering hysteria – which effectively created “a mandate for a massive campaign against drugs –an intensified federal enforcement effort, harsher prison sentences, and omnipresent narcotics surveillance of ordinary Americans.” Bush's “war on drugs”, an
The issue of mass incarceration that our country as a whole faces is very extreme from a sociological standpoint. as a society due to hundreds of years of racial discrimination formed very long lasting wounds for a lot of races. most are oblivious to the fact that our nation as a whole today is racist. and our prison population and specific areas where crime rates are high have the statistics to back the fact that the laws and regulations the government has put in place over time are the cause of a lot if not most of the generalized racism which causes more than two thirds of the prison population to be black or hispanic. This is just one of many issues with our prisons today. This is not the only issue racial discrimination has caused. Everyday
Ultimately the question that we should ask,have we as a nation approach the war on drugs fairly ? Is the war on drugs about the drug or is it about our people? I can honestly say with my head held high its not about the drug but about the people. .We as a nation don't gain anything if we strip our people from their rights and abandoned them. As Lisa D. Moore, DrPH and Amy Elkavich, BA noted, “Everyone should be able to access quality health care and education inside and out of prison. We should support ex-felons after their prison terms in their attempts to find meaningful employment, housing, and education.” We all live under one nation and should strive to be the best nations and allowing people to seize our rights as citizen is irrational. We need to step up and ask for change!
According to the Oxford Index, “whether called mass incarceration, mass imprisonment, the prison boom, or hyper incarceration, this phenomenon refers to the current American experiment in incarceration, which is defined by comparatively and historically extreme rates of imprisonment and by the concentration of imprisonment among young, African American men living in neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage.” It should be noted that there is much ambiguity in the scholarly definition of the newly controversial social welfare issue as well as a specific determination in regards to the causes and consequences to American society. While some pro arguments cry act as a crime prevention technique, especially in the scope of the “war on drugs’.
In preparation for this reflection paper I watched Bill Moyers: incarceration, read two peer reviewed articles, and reflected on my own personal experiences. The book the new Jim crow gave me new insights on mass incarceration in America, and how incarceration has replaced slavery in America today. Growing up I’ve experienced firsthand the affect that the war on drugs can have on a person. Witnessing how the system takes away all your privileges leaving you striped of your American rights. While watching this documentary, I empathized with the struggle the women in this film had with maintaining a normal life after being released from prison. I empathize with them because just like them I grew up in a society where drugs were sold
Since 1971, the war of drugs has cost over $1 trillion and resulted in more than 45 million arrests. During that time, illegal drug use has remained unchanged.