America has a massive problem with its prisons. Our prisons have a disproportionate number of minority inmates. There are many underlying factors fueling this imbalance. This research paper will highlight and inspect the social, political, and legal structures that currently contribute to this disparity. I will also address the issues that exacerbate our penal system: generational poverty, the war on drugs, and racial profiling.
When you hear of a disparity between minority and Caucasian prison populations, you would probably think it’s a result of minorities committing more crimes. There are way more minorities in jails than Caucasians because of demographic issues, racial profiling, and skewed societal views and stereotypes. There are so many cases of preventable deaths and injuries because so many people base their assumptions purely off of what they think they see. The …show more content…
Since President Nixon denounced drug abuse in 1971, the American government has aggressively prosecuted many non-violent drug offenders, most of them belonging to economically disadvantaged minorities (Cummings, 2012). But before marijuana was deemed a dangerous and drug, President John F. Kennedy smoked it (in the White House) for pain management. The CIA has acknowledged funding drug cartels to sell heroin in the ghettos and villas with predominantly Black and Hispanic populations. Studies show that minorities also tend to receive harsher sentences policies for their offenses on the federal and state level. Politicians can say they want to help implement prison reform, but the corporations that funds their campaigns are the same ones winning lucrative government contracts. Some politicians have even said that the increasing number of incarcerated Americans means more prisons, and more prisons mean more work in the construction industry. So the government should own up to its share of the blame in the
When you hear of a disparity between minority and Caucasian prison populations, you would probably think it’s a result of minorities committing more crimes. There are way more minorities in jails than Caucasians because of demographic issues, racial profiling, and skewed societal views and stereotypes. There are so many cases of preventable deaths and injuries because so many people base their assumptions purely off of what they think they see. The …show more content…
Since President Nixon denounced drug abuse in 1971, the American government has aggressively prosecuted many non-violent drug offenders, most of them belonging to economically disadvantaged minorities (Cummings, 2012). But before marijuana was deemed a dangerous and drug, President John F. Kennedy smoked it (in the White House) for pain management. The CIA has acknowledged funding drug cartels to sell heroin in the ghettos and villas with predominantly Black and Hispanic populations. Studies show that minorities also tend to receive harsher sentences policies for their offenses on the federal and state level. Politicians can say they want to help implement prison reform, but the corporations that funds their campaigns are the same ones winning lucrative government contracts. Some politicians have even said that the increasing number of incarcerated Americans means more prisons, and more prisons mean more work in the construction industry. So the government should own up to its share of the blame in the