As many of you already know the United States has the highest percentage of its population behind bars compared to any other country. This may be related to the fact that a majority of petty crimes require mandatory sentencing. Politicians such as District Attorney Dan Conley believe that mandatory sentencing is an efficient way to protect the population from corrupt individuals as well as decreasing crime rates. However, housing all of these individuals is not cheap, the funding for this endeavor is taken directly from the taxes all of us have to pay. While I agree that petty crime offenders should compensate in some way for their crimes, further destroying their lives is not the answer. I would argue that mandatory sentencing should be changed because convicts who are released from prison are left worse off than before, instead of incarcerating drug addicts we should help them, and our tax dollars should be put to far greater use.
A common misconception is that upon release from prison ex-convicts reform their lives. Unfortunately, this is not …show more content…
As many of us already know, after receiving a felony there are very few jobs that will be generous enough to hire you. These jobs are often very low paying jobs such as fast-food restaurants, factory workers, etc. Which makes it almost impossible to provide for yourself let alone a family. Unfortunately, “four out of ten freed men return to prison” (Johnson). This may be related to the fact you can make thousands upon thousands of dollars selling drugs, guns, etc. in a few days or you could choose the “honest living” and make $580 in 2 weeks working for minimum wage at McDonald’s. Reducing the restrictions of felony charges would allow ex-convicts to obtain profitable jobs allowing them to continue on the straight and narrow path. Without proper incentives ex-convicts will return to prison, thus continuing this never-ending
A common misconception is that upon release from prison ex-convicts reform their lives. Unfortunately, this is not …show more content…
As many of us already know, after receiving a felony there are very few jobs that will be generous enough to hire you. These jobs are often very low paying jobs such as fast-food restaurants, factory workers, etc. Which makes it almost impossible to provide for yourself let alone a family. Unfortunately, “four out of ten freed men return to prison” (Johnson). This may be related to the fact you can make thousands upon thousands of dollars selling drugs, guns, etc. in a few days or you could choose the “honest living” and make $580 in 2 weeks working for minimum wage at McDonald’s. Reducing the restrictions of felony charges would allow ex-convicts to obtain profitable jobs allowing them to continue on the straight and narrow path. Without proper incentives ex-convicts will return to prison, thus continuing this never-ending