Arguing a Position Essay

-Some may disagree with me because banning larger drinks will just make people buy more smaller sized drinks allowing them to take in more sugar and calories.

One of the main barriers that inmates face when they are released from prison is limited cognitive skills, limited education and work experience, and substance abuse or other mental health problems. Substance abuse and other mental health problems limit employability because it limits the job readiness that is required for employment (Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2003). Another issue that is faced when inmates are released into society is that any skills that they did have prior to conviction has diminished greatly and they face lower pay due to their diminished or lack of skills, and the attitudes that have been developed during their time in prison deeply affects their attitude during their search for employment. Offenders also face another barrier when searching for employment. Many businesses can be held legally liable for any criminal action that their employees may cause (Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2003). These barriers that offenders face upon release is why solid solutions and planning must be implemented when considering the integration of ex-felons into society and preparation for reentry must begin well before the scheduled release date in order to successfully reintegrate an inmate into society and reduce the rate of recidivism.

In the 1990s, states began to execute mandatory sentencing laws for repeat offenders. This statute became known as “three strike laws”. The three strikes law increases prison sentence for people convicted of a felony. If you have two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, it limits the ability that offenders have to receive a punishment other than life sentencing. By 2003 over half of the states and federal government had enacted the “three strike laws”. The expectation behind it was to get career criminals off the street for the good of the public. However, the laws have their connoisseurs who charge sentences that are often excessive to the crimes committed and that incarcerate of three strike inmates for 25 years to life. Nevertheless, the US Supreme Court has upheld three strike laws and had rejected the fact that they amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

Justice is a concept that takes into account the inalienable rights of all individuals to equal protection before and under the law regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religious belief, age, disability or income. The justice system of the United States was founded on the principles that everyone has the right to receive a fair trial with equal representation. Racial disparity exist whenever there is a vast disparity between the proportion of a group represented in the overall population and the proportion of the same group at any given point within a system. Structural inequality affects an entire class of people by granting them special access to assistance as a result of their race, ethnicity, gender, class or wealth. Racial disparity is an ever growing problem within the criminal justice system partly

There is also a theory that there is a portion of the disproportionality of imprisonment due to some level of discrimination that is based on race. When examining more of the crime-type-specific racial distributions at arrest and in prison indicates that as the seriousness of the offense decreases, blacks are disproportionately represented in prison. In this case the blacks are at a disadvantage as the amount of permissible criminal justice discretion increases, such that discrimination to be considered as a reason to why the difference in the advantages and disadvantages in the criminal justice system occurs. According to Blumstein, A. (1982) “One

The mandatory imprisonment policies written for the judicial system are creating disparity of minority inmate population primarily due to non-violent drug crimes and the unjust mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Although the United States has made progress with the racial discrimination, there has not been a rapid change in the status of people of color for several decades. A definite cause of the delayed progress has been the substantial increasing amount of imprisonment among the African-American community and the racial injustice throughout the penal system in America:

Because of this funding, more women are being recognized as victims and have equal access to help regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and immigration status. Hence, in addition to saving lives, VAWA 2013, saves money by reducing or even preventing future violence as well as related social costs.

Employment is always an issue when it comes to an ex-offender. Not only is it hard for the everyday person in society to find employment due to a poor economy, but it is much harder for an ex-offender. While in prison, prisoners are usually made to work. Unlike other programs such as counseling, prison work programs can be justified for reasons other than rehabilitation of the individual offender. From the perspective of the policy maker in the criminal justice system, they can help manage the population by occupying the time of the prisoners, aid in the operation of the prison, create revenue (maybe), and provide a

Esteemed teacher at Elk Grove High School was arrested Thursday morning. Two Elk Grove police officers barged in on her first class of the day not only to find that she had controlled substances on her, but she also tried planting them on a student in said class.

Mauer (2011) reported “in many respects the driving force of mass incarceration is the racial dynamic of criminal justice policy.” He points out that due to extreme incarceration rates among the African American community, the criminal justice system is viewed as a “black problem” (Mauer, 2011). At a national level, 80 percent of the populations incarcerated were of African American decent, which provides evidence that laws can be discriminatory (Mauer, 2011).

The purpose of the Three Strikes Law is to reduce serious or violent crime rates and provide a means to practice racial disparity in sentencing. The law is also intended to give longer sentences to offenders who are convicted three times. Usually, the first and second convictions result in punishment, but of a more routine appeal. Justice James A. Ardaiz, the Fifth Appellate District of California explained,

Sexual thoughts pop in and out of most people’s mind, but especially teenagers, and there’s nothing they can do about it. It is normal for teenage boys and girls to experience this, more than ever when they are hitting puberty. The hormones in the body begin to act up and teenagers want to experience other things on their own. Males begin to grow pubic and facial hairs, and their voice starts to deepen, while girls’ breasts begin to develop and their body begins to take shape. After hitting puberty, teenagers are now at the point where they want to experience things. ‚Don’t go out there and get pregnant‛ a mother

Times. http://www.nytimes.com.2008/02/19/world /americas/19iht-princeton.1.10175351.html Fitzsimmons, W. 2014. Time out or Burn out for the Next Generation. Retrieved from

The procedure known as “parole” in the criminal justice system has been in practice in the United States since the late 1800’s when it was begun in a reformatory in Elmira, New York. It’s process provides for early conditional release from prison for convicted felons, after part of their prison sentence has been served, and they are found to be eligible for parole based on factors such as: conduct while incarcerated, rehabilitative efforts/progress, type of offense, and remorse for their crime. Its use has been expanded to many states, and today has become the primary way by which offenders are released from prisons and correctional institutions. Unfortunately, parole is not always rewarded to worthy