Throughout the years, the question of whether those who commit the same crime should receive the same sentence or not has created controversy because of the mandatory sentencing laws, though, in reality, no two crimes are exactly alike and neither are the circumstances of the people involved. For women, in particular, the issue of mandatory sentencing has increased the population of women in prison. In the March 3, 2017, issue of the Congressional Quarterly Researcher titled “Women in Prison: Should they be treated differently than men?” the author, Sarah Glazer, had an anecdote given by Ramona Brant that discussed the involvement of women in a crime where they were not selling drugs, is usually due to a relationship, which they received the …show more content…
Cook first begins to explain that these laws could be the most important ones to law enforcement and federal prosecutors because they help infiltrate, disrupt and dismantle drug traffickers such as international drug cartels and violent gangs. Next, he continues to support his claim by stating that in the mid-1980s, there was a crime wave in which crime tripled to its previous state where Congress then responded by enforcing the mandatory minimum laws. These laws had actually dramatically reduced crime in 1991 and by 2014 the rates had been cut in half. Furthering his support, Cook then states that drug trafficking, specifically, has become to be looked upon as “nonviolent” compared to other crimes the laws were created for, which he describes that these traffickers are violent and causing a toll on communities. Provided that there were 52,000 deaths from overdose in the United States in 2015, as well as settling business with violence on the streets compared to in court. Finally, Cook declares that the changes being made to these mandatory laws are weakening the federal criminal justice system, such as releasing these traffickers early and …show more content…
Compared to his opposing view, Kevin Ring, Cook responded to the discussion with more factual evidence compared to emotional anecdotes. From the beginning of Cook’s argument, he uses many different examples of numerical evidence such as the violent crime had tripled within the mid-1980s crime wave, how it reduced in 1991 and again in 2014. As well as providing the fact that there were 52,000 deaths due to overdose in 2015 as well as the increasing percentages in that year as well. The only appeal to emotion that Cook had used was in his statement, “The pain of addiction, the crime generated, families torn apart, lost productivity, and the costs to our health care system are immeasurable.” This statement creates sympathy for those who are close to an addict and which that addiction was created by a drug trafficker. On the contrary to his opposing view, Cook uses logic most frequently to persuade his audience. An example of his use of logic is in the statement: “We simply cannot further dismantle the federal criminal justice system by weakening the very laws to bring violent drug traffickers to justice,” he uses the logic of weakening the justice system by repealing the mandatory minimum laws and creating the injustice towards criminals. In addition to his use of logic, his language was professional when describing his evidence
The novel “High Price” by Dr. Carl Hart, discusses Dr. Harts personal story growing up around poverty, drugs, and turning his life around to better himself. The text states “The U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics examined the connections between drugs and crime in prisoners, analyzing data from 1997 to 2004. It found that only a third of state prisoners committed their crimes under the influence of drugs and only around the same proportion were addicted” (110). Drugs have proven time and time again to influence prisoners to do wrong, especially when they’ve become addicted to the drugs they’ve allowed their body to consume.
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
writers are ‘doubly marginal’, being female and a writer in prison whereas at the same time black women suffer threefold- as a woman, prisoner, and African American”(Willingham 57). Although both of these women are prisoners, one of them is viewed as prison writer and another women is viewed just as prisoner. Beside they being treated just by their race, even in an African American society, the perception of looking imprisoned men and women are different, African American women are subjected for gender difference. Willingham mentions the thought of a African American woman, “African American men are almost made martyrs and heroes when they come out of prison but when African American women go back to their communities, the are not only unfit people, they are also marked with the title of unfit mother, and it’s hard to trust us”
Embry, R., & Lyons, P. M. (2012). Sex-based sentencing: Sentencing discrepancies between male and female sex offenders. Feminist Criminology, 7(2), 146-162.
The reason with the old ways do not work, Alexander say, is because “self-destructive drug users are responding in a tragic, but understandable way” (226). It is not their drug- problem that caused the dislocation, but the dislocation that cause the drug problem. He uses the term dislocation to describe the lack of integration with “family, community, society and spiritual values” (226). Alexander goes on to explain that history proves that inability to achieve health opportunities can take on the form of violence, and damaging drug use. Therefore, the “drug problem” (226) is not the problem. The problem is more the “pattern of response to prolong dislocation” (226). Alexander supports this by explaining the reason for the dislocation as being globalized by a society that is market driven which can only be established by the displacement of tradition, economy, and relationships. This has been seen in history before in England during the 19TH century, when “a brutal, export-oriented manufacturing system” was accompanied by work...
The U.S is only 5% of the world’s population and houses a quarter of its prison inmates; well over 2 million people. In the past decade the war on drugs has filled many state and federal prisons with a numerous amount of inmates. Building new prisons is not the answer to tackling the prison overcrowding dilemma. The U.S doesn’t have the money due to economic strains, and it will not solve this issue head on as needed. “California may be forced to release up to 33,000 prisoners by 2013” (Shapiro & Wizner, 2011, p.1.). Some women and men do not belong in prison, and should be given other opportunities to sought help. Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S today. There are many different alternatives to end prison overcrowding versus releasing them into the community. For example by launching a parole support group or treatment or rehabilitation programs for inmates as well as ex-offenders, house arrest or probation are other routes to explore.
The Sentencing Project: Research and Advocacy for Reform. (2007) Women in the Criminal Justice System: Briefing Sheets.
DELIBERATING CRIME AND PUNISHMENT: A WAY OUT OF GET TOUGH JUSTICE? Criminology & Public Policy, 5(1), 37-43. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from Criminal Justice Periodicals. (Document ID: 1016637721).
The main issue of this proposal that must be taken in consideration is that many critics argue that men become ignored by feminism and that the argument for non-custodial sentences is feminist exceptionalism at work (Reed, 2013). Many argue that attempting to keep only women out of prison could be seen as sexist towards men and not about equality. However, it is important that equality is understood as not about treating everyone the same, but about treating everyone in such a way that the outcome for both men and women can be the same (Corston, 2007). Consequently, catering to everyone’s individual needs and preventing them from a life of
Aside from children, women stand as a special population of interest for organizations engaged in social work because of their being identified as a vulnerable group. One particular subpopulation of this group, which are women who are in prison, can quire understandably raise concerns because they can be left overlooked accidentally or even purposefully because of the stigma associated with criminal liability. In relation to this, the following sections will be providing a discussion on the history and context of sexual abuse of women in prison as well as the background and outcomes of a chosen project. The concluding portion of the paper will be providing a summary of the significant points made in the initial sections of the paper along
Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993
Some movies, no matter how bad they are, can be a blast to just sit back, relax and watch the craziness unfold. Women's Prison Massacre, also known as Emanuelle Escapes from Hell, is that type of movie, co-written by Claudio Fragasso, who you may know as the mastermind behind Troll 2 and the boring, convoluted mess known as Beyond Darkness. I can't think of one thing in this movie that is done well, be it the acting, the atrocious dubbing or the story. Well, actually, I take that back, as the randomly epic arm wrestling match and the generous helping of nudity are done fantastically well. PRODUCT INFORMATION MOVIE
One of the most prevalent misconceptions, Benson and Rasmussen, contend is the notion that a large percentage of drug users commit nondrug crimes, what might be called the “drugs-cause-crime” assumption implicit in the government’s drug-war strategy. If true, then an effective crackdown on drug use would reduce nondrug crime rates.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Women in today’s society are different than men in so many ways. Not only do many women work full time careers but they also care for children and the household. Women are also biologically and psychologically built different from men so should they be treated the same as men while they are in prison.
Women are doubly punished for their crime and for their gender “Women offenders have been doubly punished by penal regimes; firstly for the social offence of their criminal acts and secondly, for the transgressions against the home-centred submissiveness and passitivity that the dominant gender order has required of respectable femininity.” It is evident that women in prison are more victims than criminals due to their situation outside of prison, however they appear to be doubly punished, once for the crime they have committed and secondly for being a woman, as it does not fulfil the common attributes associated with the gender, thus meaning a harsher treatment usually follows. Women are understood to be more victims of situation than