...Introduction The prison system in America has been a constant issue of mass-incarceration, a lack of rehabilitation, and a rate of reentry that far exceeds that of any other nation, yet this problem’s escalation has done little to bring it to the platform of reformation. The prison system has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, and a majority of these citizens are completely unaware of the needlessness of the costs with which they are burdened. With 2.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S., Americans cannot afford to continue to turn a blind eye to the economic issues presented by the current prison system (Council of Economic Advisors 3). Due to prison growth, an increasing incarceration rate, and a lack of rehabilitation and...
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...My final essay was a revision essay based on the previous writing assignment #3, which mainly talk about the consequences of the mass incarceration period on black families. I picked the visual approach to go through my revision process. I found something that fit into my elaborations and statistic, but the difficulty of making it into a visual essay is to find some related and useful pictures that are able to make the “text and message dynamic and reciprocal”. This means the photos not only simply illustrate ideas in my essay, but also extend the ideas to a more broader view. For example, one of my argument was “the experience with incarceration also has profound influences on families, especially for children”, and my photo was an inmate...
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...39C 21 February 2013 Essay of Prospective Claims: Michelle Alexander discusses how mass incarceration has ruined and dismantled many lives of young African Americans. The problem she discusses so passionately in her book is a relevant problem in our society today. Ever since Ronald Reagan’s presidency and forward, campaigns have been targeting crime and especially rug related crimes. While it is clear that many of these young African Americans are going to prison due to drug related crimes, stopping the war on drugs altogether is not the solution. Although stopping the drug war may seem efficient for stopping the incarceration of young blacks in the present, it does not guarantee that these same people will not commit other crimes. The cost for stopping the drug war is allowing drug usage and distribution to run rampant which can cause the society and the neighborhoods around the areas to become unsafe. Alexander discusses how there is no way around this issue and dismantling the system of mass incarceration is the only resolution; however if these poor neighborhoods were funded with government money, drug abuse can potentially become lower or even be stopped. Alexander is also discussing how a handful of reforms cannot be a solution to the problem. She argues that all the financial grants that are given to police departments for drug arrests and racial profiling should be halted. She believes that by halting the funding and supplies of mass incarceration are only scratching...
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...[pic] English 112 Final Exam Study Questions “The Hypercriminalization of Black and Latino Male Youth” by Victor M. Rios Summarize the essay. Explain what Rios means by “mass incarceration” (41). Rios declares that his article “is to account for the social effects of mass incarceration and the criminalization of young males of color” (41). Based on the evidence he provides, what are those “social effects”? What does Victor Rios mean when he writes “These young adult deviants do not become on their 18th birthday, rather they are systematically constructed as criminals and face the wrath of the penal state and criminalization as early as 8 years of age” (41). In what ways do you think this statement is true or false? Fully explain your answer. Rios discloses that Black and Latino youth have been labeled “deviant” (41). From his explanations, why are they labeled this way, and how does this label affect them? How do the problems they face in the job sector (Rios 42) account for how young Black and Latino males may view their future outcomes? Identify the reason/reasons that the 28 non-violent offenders were treated in similar ways to Tyrone and Jose: the two violent offenders (Rios 43). Explain what Jonathan Simon means by "crisis of ‘governance’" (43). Explain what Rios means by his statement that “the government had become an abusive step-parent figure” (43). According to him, what are the effects of this “abusive” relationship? What does Rios...
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...Dr. Heather Ann Thompson, in her essay “Why Mass Incarceration Matters: Rethinking Crisis, Decline, and Transformation in Postwar American History” suggests that the twentieth had a large increase in incarceration, and that more people were incarcerated in the United States than any other countries worldwide (the cause being drugs). Also, she claims that ten times more American were imprisoned during the last decade of the twentieth century than were killed in the Vietnam War. Dr. Heather Ann Thompson supports and develops her claim by first divulging into statistics on how the United States has the highest incarceration rate worldwide. She starts diving into past situations boasting how “The American justice system has changed dramatically in the wake of major historical revolutions” which is very valid, just look at the end result of the abolition of slavery. It caused tension and resulted in a civil war. In Thompson's article, she makes a persuading contention that white individuals take advantage from mass incarceration. Thompson utilizes particular case from states, for example, Oregon, and California in which groups thrived off detainment facilities and the work they gave. Thompson...
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...Opinion Essay: Professor Michelle Alexander's speech The New Jim Crow (2010) In its broadest sense, The New Jim Crow (2010) provides a compelling analysis of how and why mass incarceration is happening in America. It offers an appropriate and original framework for understanding mass incarceration, its roots, link to Jim Crow, the modern caste system, and what must be done to eliminate it (Alexander, 2010). Alexander’s The New Jim Crow (2010) can be said to be a grand wake-up call in the midst of a long slumber of indifference to the poor and vulnerable. It also befits being described as a timely and stunning guide to the labyrinth of discrimination, racism, and propaganda policies cloaked under other names that comprise justice in America....
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...it can be said that our nation has gone down the path of regression. Although we have made tremendous strides in becoming a better society, issues regarding our moral integrity come into question. What was once a nation of liberty, the United States has become a place conflicted within itself. Glenn Loury’s essay, “A Nation of Jailors” focuses on the compelling moral problems that are plaguing the American social structure. To further expand on the moral dilemma we are facing with our...
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...The United States of Incarceration Introduction As we near the end of 2015, racial discrimination remains an issue that can quickly create controversy and heated debate. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has become a common topic for families, which many believing that minorities are treated more harshly than whites in similar incidents. However, this movement should widen the scoop of its focus to include the discrimination not just of law enforcement officials, but also of the criminal justice system itself. Disparities in sentencing have skyrocketed since the 1980s and this increase is pushed by the war on drugs. Despite the clear evidence showing that sentencing reform must become a priority for policymakers due to both the social and economic aspects of this issue, things remain the same. The purpose of this essay is to inform the debate on sentencing reform, race, and education....
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...When it comes to the prison system, the majority of Americans only know what they've seen in the movies and on TV. They believe that in prisons only the most dangerous and violent offenders end up locked behind bars for decades. For the most part whatever happens to these individuals in prison is off no concern to them. It’s a society of out of sight, out of mind. What people don't realize is that in reality it is a smaller percentage of inmates that are incarcerated that are violent and dangerous. Twenty-five percent are non-violent illegal immigrants, fifty-five percent are non-violent drug offenders, and about five percent are mental patients, and other types of non-violent crime. (Webb 164) It’s those non-violent inmates are the ones that have rehabilitative opportunities and a chance to re-enter society with a fresh start. But when you lump them all together society see’s them all the same, as violent criminals. So there’s no big push to try to get the system to change. We need prison reform to change these views. It’s necessary so that the nonviolent inmates can receive lighter sentences and also be separated from violent inmates so they can be reformed. A majority of these non-violent criminals end up serving equal or longer sentences than those in prison for violent crimes such as rape. That is because the sentencing guidelines, used by the criminal justice system, are very draconic when it comes to drug convictions. It was made this way in hopes of reducing the illegal...
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...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 Abstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a result of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement...
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...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 A bstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in camp which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses...
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...Give your personal opinion in an essay response: "Should Suspected Terrorists Be Tried in Military Courts or Ordinary Criminal Courts?" Give your reasons for your opinion. From a human-rights perspective, I believe it is perverse to reward alien mass murderers with the enhanced due process of civilian courts. This would afford them with the same rights as the Americans they kill. Our jihadist enemies are not entitled to the rights that U.S. Citizens are entitled to under our Constitution that was designed to protect our civilians. Also, these terrorists plot their mayhem in their overseas hide-outs where American law does not apply and American law-enforcement cannot operate. I think there are terrible downsides to using the U.S. civilian justice system to prosecute our wartime enemies because of the above issues. As a statutory matter, Congress has enacted military commissions for enemy combatants. But I think in many cases, they seem to be more lenient than federal courts. One case and point was when a military commission’s handling of Salim Hamdan, a bodyguard and confidant of Osama bin Laden. After years of helping the al-Qaeda chief run his network, Hamdan was captured in possession of missiles intended for use against American troops. Military prosecutors asked for a 30 year term. The commission instead, handed down a stunning five and a half year sentence that resulted in Hamdan’s release and repatriation, since he had already spent more than five years in custody...
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...The first time that I began writing the English academic essay is three years ago. In order to apply for universities in America, I should take the SAT test. In the test, the hardest part for me is writing. At that time, I realized that writing is never easy for an international student. It is a big challenge to write an academic paper by using the second language. The argument, thesis, word choices and grammar always bother me. However, I know that writing is the most important skill for a college student, so I never stop practicing and improving it. I took a writing class 20C and 39A in my first year. Both of them helped me a lot to improve writing skills. Last quarter, I took 39B, which was my first time to know rhetorical writing. When I take writing 39C this quarter, I learn deeply about the rhetorical and research...
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...These people have been given their full human dignity in Hill’s book. Hill’s discourses are supported by “facts.” The reasons Hill cites this racial divide are many and interconnected: privatization of public resources, mass incarceration, a failed judicial branch, police militarization, shrinking job market and global disappearance of radical voices. He begins in Ferguson, and ends with the sad story of Flint, Michigan where he identified the horrific outcome from government neglect: a city, men, women, and children poisoned by lead in the...
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...1990s, and was firmly convinced by it that drugs were the primary cause of African-American suffering. Dangerously close to following the path down a life of crime like so many of his friends and family members, he was spared by a series of chance encounters that led him to join the air force. While stationed around the world he took college classes and met several mentors that would show him the extent of racism in America and open his eyes to the real causes of the suffering he grew up around. Decades of repressive and racially motivated laws had been used to put down minority groups since the late 1800s and, disguised as a war on drugs, harsh penalties were created for marijuana and crack cocaine use in the 1900s, leading to the mass incarceration of poor black people. The effects of these discriminatory laws still reverberate today, but with the help of drug research by scientists like Dr. Hart and a growing awareness of the problem by the general public, it is hoped that new laws will be made to end the war on drugs and allow its victims to succeed in the future. The construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s was one of the most extensive and complex engineering feats to ever take place. The railroad stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, was built entirely by hand, and was completed in just six years. This was made possible only because of the Chinese immigrants who had flocked to the United States in search of jobs and who provided a major...
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