...United States Prison System: The War on Drugs The United States of America is no longer the home of the free. It is the home of the locked up and caged. How can this nation embrace the concept of freedom when over 2.4 million of its citizens are locked up in prison? How can Americans have the nerve to utter the words, “racial equality” when over 10% of all African-American men is incarcerated? How can we take pride in a nation that locks up its citizens that suffer from the disease of addiction? This should be an embarrassment to all Americans. The criminal justice system must be reformed and surrender the “War on Drugs.” According to the June 2008 Bureau of Justice Summary, Americans make up only four and a half percent of the world’s population yet boasts twenty-two percent of the world’s incarcerated population. According to the same report, the American Criminal Justice System imprisons six times more of its population than other free nations such as Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Italy. America incarcerates ten times more of its population than Japan, France, and Finland. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, much higher than China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea whom we consider fascias police states. The 2009 statistics reported in the Prison Index showed that one third of African-American men will serve time in prison at some point in their life. The Bureau of Justice statistics reported, “The number of inmates in...
Words: 2315 - Pages: 10
...Felon Voting In the United States, people convicted with felony are barred from participating in voting in any election. According to Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (2008), it is estimated that about five million felony victims have been denied this chance, a condition referred to as disenfranchisement. Every state in America has its own law concerning disenfranchisement. Felons are only allowed to vote in Maine and Vermont states (Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 2008). Some states demand that felon re-enfranchisement should be enhanced to allow felons who have already completed their sentence to participate in elections. They argue that their privileges and rights should be restored by allowing them to cast votes. According to them, blocking felons from voting is undemocratic, unfair, racially, and politically motivated while opponents state that felons have poor judgment, and should not be entrusted with this fundamental right. This research paper gives a clear summary of two articles concerning their position on felon voting. The first article is Liberal and republication argument against the disenfranchisement of felons by Jeffrey Reiman, and the second one is Locked out: felon disenfranchisement and America democracy by Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen. Both articles indicate that disenfranchisement of criminal offenders who are already through with their sentences is ethically and morally wrong. The two authors lobby for the enfranchisement...
Words: 1574 - Pages: 7
...sentenced to a mandatory 25 years to life if he or she had been convicted of two violent felonies and picked up a third felony offense. The third offense could be any felony, even a minor felony. Prosecutors were given discretion on whether or not to file a case as a third strike. Judges were given the discretion to strike a strike after a conviction, known as a Romero motion. But even with these two safe guards in place, it did little to lessen the prison population and eliminate overcrowding. A common misconception was that crime would decrease because people would want to avoid such harsh punishment. However, this was not the case. Desperate to find a way to reduce recidivism, prop 47 was...
Words: 1196 - Pages: 5
...matched by LVPD • Health, vision, and dental insurance is available for employees and their dependents beginning at date of hire at competitive rates • Police Employee Assistance Program is a counseling and referral service for employees and their families at no cost to employees Requirements: • Applicants must be at least 21 years of age by the date of the first test, • Vision must be 20/20, or correctable to 20/20 • Applicants must be citizens of the United States by the date of the first test • Applicants must maintain physical condition necessary to perform the essential functions of the job • You must be a high school graduate or possess a G.E.D. You will not be eligible for employment if you have been convicted of: A felony crime Two DUIs Domestic Violence or Domestic Assault (any position which may require carrying a firearm) All other convictions will be reviewed and may be disqualifying. *All applicants be required to pass a pre-employment drug test...
Words: 352 - Pages: 2
...I believe my thesis address the topic sentence. I state in my essay about what Im going to talk about and what two things I’m comparing and contrast. I have a thesis that supports my topic. I had to make some changes on trying to get my closings to reinforce the main point I was making. I didn’t feel that my closing was effective enough. I made a few changes like for example the flow if my essay. I didn’t have the essay flowing right to where it would make sense. I put my essay in order to where it will make sense. I want my reader to understand what I’m trying to say. My essay provides strong points on my opinions and how I feel. I had to make the examples out of my opinion. I did strong research on the web about what felons can and can’t do. My research gives me strong evidence to back up my opinions. I based my essay on my evidence. I am working on changing how I change paragraphs. I’m working on how to transitions between sentences. I did some research on how this type of essay are written. The research really helped me learn on how to write a successful essay. TurnitinOriginality Report * Processed on: 23-Sep-2013 11:10 PM CDT * ID: 355035039 * Word Count: 845 * Submitted: 1 life of a convicted felonBy Shavonne Galloway Similarity Index 0% Similarity by Source Internet Sources: 0% Publications: 0% Student Papers: N/A include quoted include bibliography exclude small matches downloadrefreshprint mode: ...
Words: 1240 - Pages: 5
...still does not change the way I feel towards animal cruelty. My father thinks it is not bad to fight roosters, but I always tell him that fighting them is very cruel to the rooster. Two main animals used for fighting are roosters and dogs. They are trained and forced to fight each other to death, which cock fighters find interesting and gamble their money. Animal Rights and Human Obligations Second Edition, Ed. by Tom Regan and Peter singer, specifies the rights of animals, treatment of animals, killing and value of life of animals, etc. It has various authors on each specific topic that makes it more interesting. I argue that animals should be given their rights and not be tortured by humans for no apparent reason, and those committing the crime should face the maximum fine and fine them with a huge amount of money and even be imprisoned for more time. With time and research, a solution will can be found to...
Words: 2878 - Pages: 12
...The root of all American laws is found in English law. In England, people who were charged with felonies had no right to hire a private attorney, though it was allowed sometimes in special circumstances. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Parliament passed a law allowing people accused of treason the right to be represented by an attorney at trial, but this right did not extend to any other classes of crime. (Find Law, 2010) All the way up until 1836, with the passage of the Prisoners' Counsel Act, this right was denied to people charged with nearly all serious crimes in England. The development of the common-law principle in England had denied to anyone charged with a felony the right to retain counsel, while the right was afforded in misdemeanor cases, a rule ameliorated in practice, however, by the judicial practice of allowing counsel to argue points of law and then generously interpreting the limits of ''legal questions.'' The colonial and early state practice in this country was varied, ranging from the existent English practice to appointment of counsel in a few States where needed counsel could not be retained. Historically, the right to counsel has meant the right to retained counsel; that is, if the defendant could afford a lawyer, he had the right to use one. (Lawyers.com, 2000) The poor defendant was denied this right. In early America, some states showed a greater concern for the impoverished defendant than did the federal government. These states provided for...
Words: 863 - Pages: 4
... | | | |Shaun hits the man and kills him. |Justifiable homicide | | | | |Excusable homicide | | | | |Statutory rape | | | | |Malice aforethought | | | | |Necessity | | | | |Felony murder | | | | |Suicide | | | |...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...Question 1: Identify the stakeholders and how they were affected by Heene's actions? The stakeholders in the “Balloon Ball Hoax” are the boy, Falcon Heene; the parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, brothers, Bradford and Ryo Heene; Larimer County sheriff; Jim Alderman; Denver International Airport travelers and employees; National Guard unit; local police; search and rescue teams; media and news services; Colorado taxpayers; and the public. The public through the media watched and worried about the fate of the boy in the balloon. Colorado taxpayers footed the bill for the 50,000 USD cost of personnel time, equipment and other incidentals to track the balloon, search the rescue mission, and investigation of the hoax. Denver International Airport closed to avoid collision with the balloon. Travelers were delayed and flights rerouted and rescheduled. Airport employees had to remain calm and courteous as travelers became frustrated with delays, missed flight times and rescheduling. Local police, the National Guard unit, and search and rescue teams spent hours and used expensive equipment to track and hunt for the balloon and boy while Falcon was safe the whole time. Sheriff Jim Alderman had to conduct investigation under intense media scrutiny. At first, the media was incredulous that the parents were being questioned and investigated. Then Mr. Alderman was ridiculed for not detecting the hoax sooner. Falcon Heene was used by his parents to pull out the hoax that he was on a hot...
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...Week 3 Team Assignment Rashad Murray, Shannon Oregero, Barbara Mckinney, Scott Huepenbecker CJA/354 August 17, 2014 Ann Perry In the case presented before you we are the prosecuting team and are pursuing charges on behalf of the state of South Carolina for the following offenses: Homicide, Kidnapping, Assault on law enforcement, Burglary, possession of controlled substance. We the prosecuting team feels strongly about these charges based on all of the evidence in which was collected from the victim’s residence as well as the defendant’s residence. We will provide you with the information from a variety of different states to show the variance of charges that can be brought upon an offender. There are four states represented here whereby are found, South Carolina, Minnesota, Texas, and Maine. Each state provides a different perspective, but the most effective in our opinion is South Carolina. Laws for each Charge Homicide Homicide is considered, “The killing of one human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another human being” (Schmalleger, Hall, & Dolatowski, 2010, pg. 192). The victim was last seen at 5:10pm when leaving work. She was found at 7:45 the following morning with 13 stab wounds causing her death at about 11:45 on October 18th. DNA of the suspect was found under her fingernails, indicating that she struggled with Mr. Dents. Mr. Dents was seen by two witnesses going into her apartment before she arrived home, with traces of the victims’ blood...
Words: 1226 - Pages: 5
...Prosecuting Argument Paper Team C: CJA/354 August 26, 2013 Prosecuting Argument Paper Enough evidence was obtained to make the arrest of Mr. Dents. The state has now charged Stu Dents with the following: Homicide, assault of a police officer, kidnapping, burglary, and crimes related to drugs. Homicide is “The killing of one human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another human being” (Schmalleger, 2010). Murder is a type of homicide. Below is the Georgia state law on murder. Murder; felony murder: A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being. Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart. A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life ("Georgia Code", 2013). On October 18th, two eyewitnesses said the defendant Stu Dents entered into apartment number 156, which was the victim’s apartment. Uma Opee’s body was found October 19th; it was located behind an abandoned building, which is approximately 5 miles from her residence...
Words: 1598 - Pages: 7
...respect, safety and integrity can be changed in a short time by a few unethical choices and to rebuild that perspective can take many years. This is a sad world that we live in when we cannot trust the people that have sworn to serve and protect our communities to make the right decisions when it comes to their duties. There are so many real-life examples that show police misconduct, because bad things always make front page but all the good that they do is overlooked. This case was very strange to me, officer from Oakland County, Michigan knows what the departments are capable of doing and still downloads and shares child pornography on his home computer (WDIV Detroit, 2013) . He was fired in January 2012 after the Flint internet crime against children task force traced back through share sites led them back to this officers computer. This officer was finally in court and was ordered to attend sex-addict anonymous, as well as one year in prison and five years probation. This next case is common place in Michigan, but a decorated officer was arrested for drunk driving, he was put on paid administrative leave, he plead guilty and is awaiting sentencing (Lynch, 2013) . In Miami-Dade, two officers were accused of assaulting three men outside a bar, kicking a 69-year-old man in the head until he was unconscious and pepper-spraying another man at close range in the face, while the other officer beat a man in the face with a nightstick that left the man disfigured....
Words: 601 - Pages: 3
...GPA in class _________ Graduation _______________________________ (mm/dd/yyyy) Evaluation Is this applicant in good standing? [_] Yes ___ [_] No Is this applicant eligible to return to your institution? [_] Yes ___ [_] No If you answered “no” to either or both questions, please attach a document to provide details. Has the applicant ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at your school, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in the applicant’s probation, suspension, removal, dismissal, or expulsion from your institution? [_] Yes ___ [_] No ___ [_] School policy prevents me from responding. To your knowledge, has the applicant ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime? [_] Yes ___ [_] No ___ [_] School policy prevents me from responding. If you answered “yes” to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper or use your written recommendation to give the approximate date of each...
Words: 280 - Pages: 2
...either dead or dying on man’s small property in Shallowater, Texas. Inside the house, the few living dogs were found eating other dogs just to stay alive, and carcasses were scattered all across the area. A sheriff announced that the feces was said to be “ankle deep” in certain parts of the house. The owner was later arrested and charged with only two misdemeanors. I believe we the people could prevent these kind of acts from happening so often. No matter how gruesome of an act it is, animal abuse is only a Class A misdemeanor unless the offender has two prior convictions. Although as of September 1, 2001, people who committed acts of cruelty or the torture of animals can receive worse punishments. The maximum sentence would be tried as a felony with up to $10,000 in fines and or two years in jail. In Houston today, we have Houston SPCA Cruelty Investigators which receive over 8,500 calls per year about animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty. These six investigators are extremely committed and take their job very seriously, no matter what the cost. The SPCA also works nationwide with law enforcement officials and other humane organizations for aid in certain cases. Although there are many cases in which the punishment should be more harsh, there is a specific one that touched people’s hearts. A ten month old puppy was dropped off at the Operation Kindness shelter by two men that found her stranded near their apartment. The dog was terrified, sixty percent of her body was covered...
Words: 923 - Pages: 4
...Adminstrative Ethics Paper Lonijoy Gardiner HCS/ 335 June 13, 2010 Tyler Zerwekh Adminstrative Ethics Paper Today we are going look into a commissioner that is fighting to keep his job despite having a felony. Is this ethical right? What are some issues with employing an individual with felonies? These are all questions that we need to ask ourselves. This article talks about a Kentwood Commissioner Ray VerWys, in 2001 he was convicted of embezzling between “$20,000 and $50,000 involving his employer” (Lafurgey, 2011). He was also convicted of a second case and pleaded guilty later in the year. He did not tell the public when he ran for commissioner that he was convicted of felonies. His co-workers want him out of office. They feel that he was honest and that as a public official there are certain standards that need to be maintained by a public official. One unethical issue that is an issue is VerWys was not honest. In a public standard it is improtant for a person to be honest and let the public know what happened any why. We have seen many cases in government where politicans are not honest and it all comes out later in life. Take John Edwards for example, took campaign money and spent it on his mistress. He claims he does nothing wrong and should not be charged with embezzlement. According to a federal jusdge in North Carolina “We will not permit candadiates for high office to abuse their special ability to access the coffers of their political supporters...
Words: 702 - Pages: 3
