The Consequences Of Incarceration: The New Jim Crow

The US has some of the highest rates of incarceration in the world. The US incarceration rates are some of the highest in the world. As of 2006 the US incarcerated 723 people per 100,000 residents, while the UK only incarcerated 139 per 100,000 residents (10). However, one of the most important aspects of mass incarceration is how racially disproportionate the rates are. Incarceration in itself is not the only problem, but the lifelong consequences of being labeled a criminal that allows legal discrimination and the denial of human rights. There are more African Americans in prison, jail or on probation/parole than were enslaved in 1850 (2). This cycle of incarceration and the aftermath is considered to be The New Jim Crow, perpetuating a racial caste system in America. This system ensures a large population of African Americans, and people of color in general, will be branded criminals and therefore denied …show more content…
There are so many lives, families, and communities ruined by cycles of mass incarceration and poverty. Now there are more people in prison just for drug offenses than there were total prisoners in 1980. It isn’t a system built for reform and strengthening communities. In fact, this system doesn’t even appear to be built to reduce crime. It’s easy to see how being released from prison in debt and then be denied public benefits only perpetuates even more crime and a greater chance of returning to prison. There is no easy solution and the prison boom has ensured there is economic, social, and political roots in mass incarceration. Change starts with more awareness of mass incarceration, policy changes of how felons are treated, and banning the box that felons have to check on employment applications. Dismantling the system of mass incarceration starts with giving felons their rights back