Locked Away Analysis

Locked Away Author Patricia Smith opens her article with a baffling statistic, “Last month, 6,000 inmates who had spent an average of nine years behind bars....” The issue? Overcrowding in federally run prisons, the question, have the “get-tough-on-crime” laws sent too many Americans to prison? Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the mandatory penalties given the the “non-violent” criminals are too harsh, and we as a nation need to withdraw from these punishments. The solution? Sentencing reforms. Congress has been reconsidering the “mandatory-minimum-sentencing laws” and the results could include releasing prisoners serving time for nonviolent crimes, those such as drug possession early. The Goal? To discourage potential criminals all together. A debate that has begun as early as the 1980s, and with these crimes rates only growing an epidemic has also begun. But the minimum sentences are now being reviewed as too extreme, and many states have, “‘three strikes and you’re out’ laws that …show more content…
I am also all for the reforms that are being discussed, along the lines of the crime fitting the punishment. But I also believe that the most important reforms that can be made are in the court system themselves, if we can regulate and minimize the number of people being incarcerated then, that in turn will make the rest of the process much easier. Overall I believe that the there is no way around reforming the criminal justice system, and there is no one move that will fix it all. My sister has expressed that she believes in the reforms for sentencing. She believes that the sentencing system is excessive and the punishments need to be more suited to the crime. With that said she also does not believe that those incarcerated currently should be given the chance to be released early. Even though the crime may not be a good fit, it is what the court has decided and that should be then end of