Mass Incarceration Of The United States - 1417 Words

In the U.S. there has been a rise in incarcerations, the numbers today are much higher than they were 30, 40 years ago despite the fact that crime is at historic lows. So what are we to make of the leap in time typically served for crimes in America’s society? Either the justice system was too lenient in the past, or the justice system is too strict now. Have we just now realized the real gravity of murder, or are we now overreacting? The United States currently over-incarcerates its citizens, prisoners have become part of the economy, manufacturing and assembling products for major corporations. Based on the research, it would be unethical to continue a trend of mass incarceration when the conditions are unsustainable, inhumane, and the product of unethical polices. In the world because some crimes are more severe than others, human beings decided that deprivation of liberty was the best form of punishment. The idea was to make prison a system for corrections, rather than detention alone. These ideas soon manifested in schools of philosophy and criminology were the notion was defended that punishment should be more lenient only at the cost of the greater good and aimed to change the behavior itself. Eventually these ideas gave birth to a new form of incarcerations designed to deter both rise in crime and to reform, based on self-reflection over the prisoner’s choices. Well then why are the incarcerations in the United States so high one might ask? In the United StatesShow MoreRelatedMass Incarceration : The United States1628 Words   |  7 PagesMass Incarceration is a huge problem in United States culture. No other country in the world incarcerates its population the way that America does. â€Å"The U.S. incarcerates more people than a ny country in the world – both per capita and in terms of total people behind bars. The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it has almost 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population.† Worse yet the majority of the incarcerated individuals belong to a minority group despite not participatingRead MoreThe Mass Incarceration Of The United States1198 Words   |  5 PagesThe mass incarceration in the United States, has grown hand in hand with the well-disguised scheme of racialized social control that worked similarly to Jim Crow institutions.   Howard Zinn describes social-economic structures that justified slavery, also prevented a class movement between poor whites and slaves that would threaten the power of the elite. The birth of white privilege and segregation of African Americans aided in creating Jim Crow policies and in the criminal justice and politicalRead MoreMass Incarceration During The United States1322 Words   |  6 PagesMonroe Craver Mrs. Gallos English 3 Honors 30 March 2017 Mass Incarceration in the United States There are too many people in prison in our country and any people in prison today are non-violent drug offenders. The American war on drugs has targeted people in poverty and minorities, who are more likely to be involved in drug use. This has created a pattern of crime and incarceration and â€Å"...[a] connection between increased prison rates and lower crime is tenuous and small.† (Wyler). The prisonRead MoreMass Incarceration And Its Effects On The United States Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesMass incarceration is a major problem in the United States. Since the tough on crime movement that began to emphasize more punishment and creating new policies such as; three strikes law, truth-in sentencing laws, mandatory sentencing, and determinate sentencing, our prisons and jails have become overcrowded. The three strikes law increases the prison sentence of an offender convicted of three felonies or serious crime. Usually the punishment ranges from a minimum of 25 years to l ife in prison. TheRead MoreMass Incarceration And Its Effects On The United States946 Words   |  4 PagesMass incarceration alludes to the investigation which ought to be clarified as exceedingly elevated pace of imprisonment among African Americans men and Latino males from troubling neighborhoods. Many will say it’s from poor families and when they take the males, it weakens the family even more. One of the main reasons for mass incarceration is to have control of the system and African American’s after slavery was annihilated. One main issue about mass incarceration would be that if an African AmericanRead MoreThe United States Faces Excessive Mass Incarceration1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States faces excessive mass incarceration. We have the largest prison population in the world and the second highest incarceration rate per-capita (1 in 100 citizens is behind bars). While you are certainly familiar with these statistics, I would like to emphasize that using incarceration as the primary response to social problems, as is happening today in the United States, impacts the incarcerated, their families and neighborhoods, as well as costing Maryland taxpayers millions of dollarsRead MoreMass Incarceration : A Major Problem Within The United States1695 Words   |  7 PagesMass incarceration has recently become a major problem within the United States. Although crime rates have dropped since the 1990s, incarceration rates have soared. This trend is largely associated with increased enforcement of drug-related crimes. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, this problem involves racial discrepancies when regarding these mass incarcerations. Incarcerations appear to be the most prominent throughout urban areas and the south, which happen to be the areas where AfricanRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1199 Words   |  5 Pagesdid read her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness. Michelle Alexan der stated that The most despised in America is not gays, transgenders, nor even illegal immigrants - it is criminals. That was an important quote since the stereotypical criminal in our racially divided America in most cases are those of color also known as blacks. This is why the criminal justice system in the United States promotes the mass incarceration of blacks that can be seen through highRead MoreMass Incarceration : A New Form Of Slavery Essay1555 Words   |  7 PagesMass Incarceration: A New Form of Slavery in the United States Lorena P. Ambriz History 12A Abstract Starting in the 1970s, the rising rate of imprisonment came to be known as Mass Incarceration. What was once an average of 100 people getting imprisoned for every 100,000 adults, prior to the 1970s, has now grown to become more than 600 individuals per every 100,000 adults imprisoned. With only five present of the total world population, The United States holds an astonishing 25 percent of theRead MoreMass Incarceration Is Defined As The Imprisonment Of A Large Amount Of People1439 Words   |  6 PagesAt the simplest level, mass incarceration is defined as the imprisonment of a large amount of people. However, that does not tell the whole story. The majority of people incarcerated are minorities, and although mass incarceration began as a system of unjust racial and social control, today it continues for many political reasons including government grants, swaying voter opinion, and for-profit prison revenue. The United States incarcerates more people, per capita, than any other nation in the