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From Prison To Home Analysis

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The American Criminal Justice System: The Social and Cultural Considerations

Introduction
The American criminal justice system, the largest in the world, with 2.3M people incarcerated (Prison Policy Initiative 2016) has a significant impact on many aspects of American society when viewed through the social and cultural lens including the psychological impact of incarceration, varying treatment based on race, and post-incarceration results. Based on the analysis of various positions of experts in the field, it is clear that certain policy reforms in the existing system would be beneficial for the incarcerated and the broader society.
When comparing the scale of incarceration and other related metrics in the United States …show more content…
This topic was explored in Craig Haney’s paper “From Prison to Home: The Effect of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities”. In it, Haney discusses various aspects of psychological impact including dependence on the institution, hypervigilance, distrust and suspicion, emotional over-control, alienation, and more (Haney 2001). Some of those released carry the traumatic effects with them into society thereby affecting the broader community. For instance, Mika’il DeVeaux, previously incarcerated in New York State’s maximum-security prisons describes, “I remain haunted by the memories and images of violence … I can still see the murders I witnessed” (DeVeaux 2013). It is important to note that some policies result in long-term effects on some prisoners and that changes to those policies can have a positive impact on both the prisoner and the broader …show more content…
“The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States.” Center for American Progress, Americanprogress, 29 May 2015, www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/.
Liem, Marieke, and Maarten Kunst. “Is There a Recognizable Post-Incarceration Syndrome among Released ‘Lifers’?” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Pergamon, 30 Apr. 2013, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160252713000344.
Loevy, Debra. “How Does US Justice Stack Up? An International Comparison.” Loevy & Loevy, 21 Dec. 2015, www.loevy.com/blog/how-does-us-justice-stack-up-an-international-comparison/.
Morris, Terence. “The Criminal Area.” Google Books, 1957, books.google.com/books?id=mb6AAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor%3A%22Professor%2BTerence%2BMorris%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjuyJjhtazaAhUD7qwKHUADCl4Q6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Petersilia, Joan. “Beyond the Prison Bubble.” The Wilson Quarterly, 7 Jan. 2015,

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