An epidemic faces the United States. One larger than any other country has to deal with. Mass incarceration of our citizens has, until now, been on the rise, reaching staggering numbers. The “Who Is in Prison” graphic on page 145 in We the People paints a simplified image of the realities of our prison system. America, the home of the brave and land of the free, has the highest prison population in the world. There are about 700 people incarcerated per 100,000 residents nationwide which amounts to over 2 million behind bars. The South and Southwest are home to the worst incarceration rates in the nation, while the Northeast maintains some of the lowest rates. Men are the largest shareholders of prison cells, making up over 90% of the population,
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Despite the United States being in the upper echelon for individual rights and autonomy , minorities across this country are subjugated daily. Racial profiling and increased policing in ethnic neighborhoods are some of the reasons that lead to the lopsided detention of African Americans and Hispanics as compared to White Americans. This is not to say that many of these ethnicities are wrongly arrested or jailed, but as a percentage of population, they are sentenced far more often than would be expected. These sentences handed down to minorities are also harsher than those given to White Americans for the same crime. Just recently, Stanford star swimmer Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in jail, of which he will most likely serve three, for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman. Compare this to Corey Batey, a student at Vanderbilt University who was convicted of the same crime but happened to be African American. This young man received a sentence of 15-25 years in prison. Brain Banks, an African American high school student accused of rape was sentenced five years in prison and another five on parole before it was revealed the story was fabricated. The examples go on for pages but the fact is that it is hard to point to specific liberties that are being infringed upon but stats don’t lie. There is a problem …show more content…
Compare this to the 53% of inmates in state and local prisons that are doing time for violent crimes and one can come to realize what is happening. Minor drug offenses need to be handled on a local or state level with the presiding judge or sheriff given more authority as how to deal with the situation. There could be no possible way that every drug crime is even remotely the same, so why should there be mandatory minimum sentences imposed on young individuals, particularly nonviolent ones. Perhaps the cruelest punishment of all is aiding in the destruction of someone else’s life for a less than harmful
Despite the United States being in the upper echelon for individual rights and autonomy , minorities across this country are subjugated daily. Racial profiling and increased policing in ethnic neighborhoods are some of the reasons that lead to the lopsided detention of African Americans and Hispanics as compared to White Americans. This is not to say that many of these ethnicities are wrongly arrested or jailed, but as a percentage of population, they are sentenced far more often than would be expected. These sentences handed down to minorities are also harsher than those given to White Americans for the same crime. Just recently, Stanford star swimmer Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in jail, of which he will most likely serve three, for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman. Compare this to Corey Batey, a student at Vanderbilt University who was convicted of the same crime but happened to be African American. This young man received a sentence of 15-25 years in prison. Brain Banks, an African American high school student accused of rape was sentenced five years in prison and another five on parole before it was revealed the story was fabricated. The examples go on for pages but the fact is that it is hard to point to specific liberties that are being infringed upon but stats don’t lie. There is a problem …show more content…
Compare this to the 53% of inmates in state and local prisons that are doing time for violent crimes and one can come to realize what is happening. Minor drug offenses need to be handled on a local or state level with the presiding judge or sheriff given more authority as how to deal with the situation. There could be no possible way that every drug crime is even remotely the same, so why should there be mandatory minimum sentences imposed on young individuals, particularly nonviolent ones. Perhaps the cruelest punishment of all is aiding in the destruction of someone else’s life for a less than harmful