Mass Incarceration free essay sample

Mass incarceration is one of very many huge problems we have here in America. But when you really look into the core of the situation, whose fault is it really. Right away you think it is the criminals fault for getting arrested in the first place right? More people should be well behaved and not end up in prison? But what a lot of people fail to notice are the ones that actual do the actual sentencing. In Paul Butlers book, Lets Get Free he writes, â€Å"I became a prosecutor because I hate bullies. I stopped being a prosecutor because I hate bullies. † Do I think that some people belong in prison? Absolutely. But I also think that there are also even more people that do not deserve to be there and that’s why we have this problem. Paul Butler Claims, â€Å"the criminal justice system gives the state a monopoly on excising†¦retribution. We will write a custom essay sample on Mass Incarceration or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Its legal hate. † (Butler, 4) This is what I think prosecutors do. They send whoever they want to prison just because they have the authority to do so. I think it is 100% wrong. The justice system is so unjust and erroneous that I think it gives even more power to those involved in working for it than what they actually deserve. Paul Butler says that, In 2008, in a high crime neighborhood in DC, the police would stop any driver and every driver. You were required to answer whether or not you had a â€Å"legitimate purpose† for being there. If you did not have a legitimate purpose, you were told to leave. Failure to comply would result in you being arrested for the crime of â€Å" failure to obey a police officer†(Butler 24) Cathy Lanier the DC police chief , says, â€Å"in certain areas we need to go beyond the normal methods of policing. †(Butler, 24). People become police officers and all of a sudden think that they have to go above and beyond their job description. It needs to stop. They are there to protect people. Not make them feel like they are a criminal. â€Å"In the name of safety, American citizens will be treated like criminals†¦. (Butler 25). I do believe that most of the individuals that are in prison do not deserve to be there at all and that in certain cases the sentence is ridiculous. The drug war and racial profiling is a huge cause to mass incarceration. Vanita Gupta from the New York times wrote, â€Å"in 2003 I represented dozens of African-American residents in Tulia, Tex. , who had been convicted after a botched drug sting. Jason Jerome Williams, a 22-year-old with no prior criminal record, had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for four sales of an eighth of an ounce of cocaine†¦, Others accepted plea deals to try to avoid such lengthy prison terms. † I do not think that drugs are okay to have, be sold, or to be under the influence of. But I do think that all of these sentences are way to long for these people. These are the sentences’ of those that commit way worse crimes like maybe killing someone or endangering some one else’s’ life. In recent studies, it is shown that†¦ The U. S has 25% of the worlds population in prison. Nearly half of all prisoners in state prisons are locked up for nonviolent offences. The U. S prison population rose by 700% from 1970 to 2005. A rate far outpacing that of general population growth and crime rates. 1 in every 106 white males age 18 or older is incarcerated. 1 in every 36 Hispanic males age 18 or older is incarcerated. 1 in every 15 black males age 18 or older is incarcerated. (Matt Sledge, The Huffington Post) The U. S. imprisons more people per capital than any country on earth, accounting for 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, despite having just five percent of the world’s population. America currently holds over two million in prisons with double that number under supervision of parole and probation, according to federal government figures (Linn Washington Jr. , A Major Destabilizing Influence) So what exactly does Mass incarceration cost us, average Americans? Mass incarceration consumes over $50-billion annually across America – money far better spent on creating jobs and improving education. Instead of giving people a minimum sentence, what they ideally deserve, they are getting double, even triple the time and its costing people more and more every single year. It doesn’t look like that is going to change soon. On June 17, 2013, the court made federal sentencing a little more sensible. In the Alleyne vs. United States case, it overturned and held that the facts supporting a mandatory minimum sentence had to be found beyond a doubt by a jury, or agreed for a plea agreement, rather than the judge making their decision based on the evidence that is shown. Alleyne didn’t get rid of mandatory minimum sentencing provisions, which remain criminal law’s bluntest instrument. Those harsh statutes still bind judges’ hands and they will continue to sentence people to these long, undeserving sentences. I have a feeling that if the United States would have won this particular case it would save people a lot of money. I think way to much money is getting put into something that could potentially be changed. The human cost of this system is real and tragic. â€Å"Over the past several years judge Bennet has visited, in their federal prisons, more than 250 of the defendants he has sentenced. A huge majority of these inmates were very low level, nonviolent drug addicts who were supposed to get minimal sentencing. Many of their families lost their homes and were forced to go on welfare. †(Mark Osler, Weekly Ads). Most inmates made immense attempts toward improving their education, learning a trade, and going through intensive drug treatment. But those with the longer mandatory minimum sentences sometimes give up hope, and they only thing they learn is how to commit more serious and violent crimes. Having lost all family ties, they are at much higher risk for re-offending when they get out. People get stuck with a title when they do go to prison. The ones that do have a longer sentence have it even worse. Their lives are never the same when they eventually do get out of prison. It is beyond difficult for them to get a job, find a place to live, or even re-connect with their families. They lose absolutely everything. This needs to stop. In August 2013, there was an announcement in San Fransico by California Attorney General Eric Holder stating that the federal prosecutors would no longer invoke mandatory minimum sentencing laws for certain low level, non violent offenders. After years and years they are finally going to stop this minimal sentencing law. I think it’s an amazing thing. But why did justice on incarceration take so long? Travis Smiley from the CNN news room wrote, †I would like to believe that its about a shift in our morals; that our nation has finally come to the conclusion that being the worlds leader on lockdowns is neither socially sustainable nor a just way to treat fellow citizens. But, alas, Im not that naive. † He continues to say that its all about money. I agree, it would be great if it was because we had a â€Å"shift in our morals† but I honestly think that it is all about money. Someone out there finally saw the endless amounts of money that we are spending on people that don’t need to be in prison for more than whats deserved and they want to stop it. Tavis Smiley ends his article with, â€Å"As a nation, we have a habit every bit as addictive as the habits of many of the folk weve locked away. Weve been addicted to the drug of incarceration, and now we can no longer afford our expensive habit. Things are breaking bad for us too. Time for rehab. † In another way, we are damning people for the same things we are doing now. It looks like we are addicted to something. Were addicted to incarceration. In my opinion, Mass incarceration needs to end for good. Not only in California, but in the rest of the United States of America. We are ruining lives as well as ourselves. There is no reason for a non violent offender to get the same sentencing as the person that has killed. I believe that the justice system is unjust and inequitable. It seems that you can commit the most non violent, simple crime and go to jail for the rest of your life. Its just not fair. America is supposed to be the land of the free. I don’t feel free at all. I don’t even feel safe. I feel as though all of my rights have been taking away. They were written for a reason, and that reason, the idea of what America should be is slowly deteriorating. I hope that in the near future it gets better. I would love to feel safe again.