Over the past century, U.S. incarceration rates have nearly doubled, while crime rates have been nearly cut in half. “The United States leads the world in incarceration, with over 2 million people behind bars; that is a 500 percent increase over the past 40 years”, according to Aristotle Jones in “The Evolution: Slavery To Mass Incarceration”, this divergence is not a function of crime, in fact, it is the rooted deep in slavery. Slavery was abolished in 1865 with the end of the Civil war and passing of the 13th amendment. Although, the racial caste in the United States did not end and the idea of using race as a market of value still continued. Jones (2016) mentioned that America built a new prison every two weeks, which they were not able
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Kamau Franklin (2015) an activist, attorney, and director of American Service committee, in her article in “From Slavery to Mass Incarnation” asserted that “Our criminal justice system isn’t broken. This glaring racial inequity is actually a result of how the justice system was designed to work—a system with an undeniable historic connection to slavery that was outlawed a century and a half ago” (para 2). The prison system has become a business, and the target groups are people of color, where they’re labeled as criminals by multiple generations through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow. The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any other nation in the world (para 1). All of this created a cycle of mass incarcerations and slavery in its newest form. In the book, The New Jim Crow, author Michelle Alexander, mentions that "penalties for many crimes are so severe that innocent people plead guilty, accepting plea bargains to avoid harsh mandatory sentences” (p. 59). These white leaders became rich for sticking minorities in prison in addition to keeping them there by spending billions of dollars to lock them up for petty crimes. Furthermore, they have taken people’s rights away and operated against the constitution - using the plea bargains to make the innocent plead guilty to avoid mandatory sentences; which is why the majority of civil cases are unable to receive trials …show more content…
In the South, AFSC is working on improving the opportunities that those out of prison lacked by speaking with a different organization and providing support through faith-based groups. These Programs significantly changed many people's lives. Regardless, in Baltimore, an organization called Friend of a Friend works towards making policy changes that affect the majority of those in prison and leave many in critical condition. They work in several prisons in Maryland and provide resources and training to those incarcerated in having a good support system where they study the cause and effect of mass incarceration and ways to demolish the system to achieve the justice they were stolen from them. In Atlanta, AFSC started a restorative justice program that aids the youth affected by the racial disparity in the legal system. They designed programs where young people are able to work and become involved in their communities. The restorative justice program also helps prevent youth from taking the wrong path into slavery. All in all, prevention is the
Kamau Franklin (2015) an activist, attorney, and director of American Service committee, in her article in “From Slavery to Mass Incarnation” asserted that “Our criminal justice system isn’t broken. This glaring racial inequity is actually a result of how the justice system was designed to work—a system with an undeniable historic connection to slavery that was outlawed a century and a half ago” (para 2). The prison system has become a business, and the target groups are people of color, where they’re labeled as criminals by multiple generations through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow. The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any other nation in the world (para 1). All of this created a cycle of mass incarcerations and slavery in its newest form. In the book, The New Jim Crow, author Michelle Alexander, mentions that "penalties for many crimes are so severe that innocent people plead guilty, accepting plea bargains to avoid harsh mandatory sentences” (p. 59). These white leaders became rich for sticking minorities in prison in addition to keeping them there by spending billions of dollars to lock them up for petty crimes. Furthermore, they have taken people’s rights away and operated against the constitution - using the plea bargains to make the innocent plead guilty to avoid mandatory sentences; which is why the majority of civil cases are unable to receive trials …show more content…
In the South, AFSC is working on improving the opportunities that those out of prison lacked by speaking with a different organization and providing support through faith-based groups. These Programs significantly changed many people's lives. Regardless, in Baltimore, an organization called Friend of a Friend works towards making policy changes that affect the majority of those in prison and leave many in critical condition. They work in several prisons in Maryland and provide resources and training to those incarcerated in having a good support system where they study the cause and effect of mass incarceration and ways to demolish the system to achieve the justice they were stolen from them. In Atlanta, AFSC started a restorative justice program that aids the youth affected by the racial disparity in the legal system. They designed programs where young people are able to work and become involved in their communities. The restorative justice program also helps prevent youth from taking the wrong path into slavery. All in all, prevention is the