Mass Detainment Case Study

Incidents similar to Trayvon’s continued: black lives were being taken by white men. The Black Lives Matter movement grew with it. More and more publicity covered the cases. Many of them that gained

There is no question that mass incarceration is a worldwide epidemic that needs to be discussed and addressed. America has five percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prison population (Just Leadership USA, 2017) Various policies dated back centuries helped to create this problem of mass incarceration (Just Leadership USA, 2017). Today there are 2.3 million Americans incarcerated throughout the state, local, and federal jails (Just Leadership USA, 2017). New York City (NYC) houses approximately 10,000 inmates per year; 43.7% of these inmates are diagnosed with having a mental health disability (New York City Department of Corrections, 2017). 54% of the inmates on Rikers Island are arrested for a minor offense and should be able to fight their cases from home; however, in many instances the family members are of low socio-economic status and unable to post bail (New York City Department of Corrections, 2017). Minor offenses include loitering, jumping the turnstiles, unnecessary Parole / Probation violations, and trespassing. In many instances, it is the mentally ill and homeless individuals who are arrested for trespassing as they elect to sleep in the subways instead of taking residency in a shelter. Moreover, many of these offenses does not have to result in an arrest. Police officers have the autonym to let some of these individuals go with a warning, desk ticket, and/or summons.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a loosely‐coordinated, nationwide movement dedicated to ending police brutality that rose to prominence in late 2014. It takes its name from a hashtag started by three Black feminist activists Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi but the movement and the hashtag are not identical (Freelon, McIlwain, & Clark, 2016). BLM has achieved national reputation through their online and offline organizing, obtaining extensive news media coverage and glowing references in music and entertainment television. Based on a horrendous incident that sparked a concern for a lot of Black people across the world, the sudden need for a social movement was born called BLM. Black Lives Matter is a national organization working for the validity of Black life and also working to rebuild the Black liberation movement. Black Lives Matter broadens the conversation and highlight the incidents around state violence to include the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state. This referring to the ways in which Black lives are deprived of basic human rights and dignity. According to the article The Murder of Walter Scott, which talks about race and class, “African Americans are less than 13% of the U.S. population yet they are nearly 50% of those killed by the police. North Charleston has a population of 104,000, 47% Black and the police force is 80% white (Miah, 2015)”.

Mass Incarceration is a huge problem in United States culture. No other country in the world incarcerates its population the way that America does. “The U.S. incarcerates more people than any country in the world – both per capita and in terms of total people behind bars. The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it has almost 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population.” Worse yet the majority of the incarcerated individuals belong to a minority group despite not participating in illegal activity any more frequently than their white counterparts. Is the United States criminal justice system racist and if so what is the cause behind this racism. After the end of slavery, many southern black Americans traveled to the north to escape endless violence and discrimination. In the south they could only find low paying field jobs whereas in the northern cities there were steady factory jobs promised as well as the hope that discrimination could be escaped. The northerners while against slavery were not egalitarian and were not in favor of hoards of black Americans surging into their cities and taking jobs away from the white working poor. The need for social control by white Americans only grew with the population of black Americans living in the cities and working in the factories. The rhetoric of “law and order” first came about in the late 1950s as white opposition to the Civil Rights Movement was encouraged by southern governors and law enforcement.

Over the past few decades, the United States has witnessed a huge surge in the number of individuals in jail and in prison. Evidence suggests the mass imprisonment policy from the last 40 years was a horrible catastrophe. Putting more people in prison not only ruined lives, it disrupted families, prevented ex-prisoners to find housing, to get an education, or even a good job. Regrettably, the United States has a higher percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is increasing exponentially. The expense produced by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. Although people are incarcerated for a number of reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. By researching mass incarceration, I hope to get society to understand that incarcerating an individual not only effects the family, but we will look at the long term consequences on society and how the United States can remain safe and, at the same time, undo much of the damage that results from large-scale imprisonment.

After his death, a group of protesters chanting “black lives matter” shut down a local shopping mall which lead to further deaths of unarmed black men. The phrase started appearing on t-shirts and posters banners everywhere. Black Lives Matter surfaced and the movement created itself. There are now more than 37 movement chapters in the U.S and one in Canada. “The movement doesn’t win if there’s only a small set of people who understand the solutions. It wins when there’s a broad understanding that we need a system that doesn’t kill people, when a critical mass of citizens can envision what that looks like, and what concrete steps are taken to make it happen.” Says Deray Mckesson, a 29-year-old man who drove 600 miles to witness the Ferguson scene himself. McKesson met a woman here who he began sharing information about events and tweeting updates, who then quickly became the most recognizable figures associated with the movement in

There are over one hundred twenty correctional facilities within America continuously growing over time. Within these facilities, more than two million prisoners are kept for committing various crimes during their lifetime. Out of the many people detained in these prisons, African Americans make up a significant portion of this population. Specifically, African American males contribute to its high number of inhabitants. From this information, it can be inferred that many families are left without providers and support. With this in mind, many poor neighborhoods and African American families lacking one or more providers struggle to maintain stability with jobs, financial dependency and

Mass incarceration is a real problem that is currently affecting minority groups across America. Even though the U.S. is a country where everyone is equal to the eyes of the law no matter their race, it seems that is not the case anymore. Throughout, its history the U.S. government has taken advantage of minority groups and has manipulated its laws in order cast out those who aren’t considered worthy enough to belong to the American society. The time has come to put a stop to this discriminatory government and the time has come for the judicial system to change its laws and policies to give an equal opportunity to any human being. Race shouldn't define your future or the probabilities of someone going to prison. Everyone should be given an

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness written by Michelle Alexander, presents the evidence of mass incarceration as a racial caste system. Alexander indicated that in the prison system, it is legal to discriminate against criminals practically in similar ways it was legal to discriminate against African Americans in the past. After being characterized as a felon, the previous ways of discrimination become legal, such as being denied numerous rights and are relegated to second-class status for the rest of their lives, permanently losing their right to vote, all the while, legally being denied work and not being able to engage in social programs in order to recover and restore what they have lost while in prison. In

Over time, policies have been changed and implemented into our government system to enforce change in our society. Implementation of policies is meant to create a boundary line to minimize crime and maintain safety in communities. Most of the times, those policies are strictly enforced to disproportionately target certain ethnic groups under actions of racism and stereotyping. But the consequences of crossing that line to go against government policies cost you more than a bailout fine, resulting in a variety of punishments in which the government and the public see fit for the given crime. To show a deep understanding of the concept, Melinda Anderson explains in “How Mass Incarceration Pushes Black Children Further Behind School,” how the

Introduction and Problem Statement Draft The Relationship between Mass Incarceration and Increased Poverty Rates among African-Americans Jessica Mellars Metropolitan State University of Denver Professor Meenakshi Venkataraman February 12, 2017 Introduction and Problem Statement Draft Two pressing social concerns that have been facing social workers in the past four decades has been the increased population of African-Americans living in incarceration and the disproportionate effects that has on the population of African-Americans living in poverty. Poverty is defined as, “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The

As understood by sociologists and scholars mass incarceration is a wide term that describes the increased rate of imprisonment in the prisons of United States for the past four decades. Accounting about 5% of the population of the world, United States recently have rapidly accommodated one-quarter of world prisoners. With the population statistics, the large numbers of prisoners leaves everyone with endless questions that need urgency in answering. Why the large number in the prisons? What are the causes of imprisonment? Are the constitutional laws in United States so harsh on minor faults that should have alternative ways of dealing with? Is justice really followed to the letter completely? And most importantly, who constitutes for these prisoners?

Jonathan Simon is a dean and law administrator, centering on the study of law and society at the UC Berkeley School of law. He’s best known for writing for his work on the role of crime and criminal justice in leading contemporary societies. Simon’s most recent work included a book called “Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America”, which was devoted to his mother, Marlene Bragman Simon. She was quite passionate towards serving to alleviate social problems and in search of social justice. Mass Incarceration on Trial gives a shocking impression towards Simon’s disagreement that the representation of a war on crime has converted entirely to the public existence in the United States. An issue in which I believe has gotten out of hand by the political candidates; especially when they regularly oath to be tough on crime for all the wrong reasons. Simon’s main claim is to demonstration that the causes of mass imprisonment and overall incapacitation has completely worsened in the prison community. Milestone cases in which the Coleman v. Wilson, Plata v. Davis, Coleman-Plata v. Schwarzenegger, and Brown v. Plata explored the main development in jurisprudence and glimmer of hope brought upon the protection of the Eight amendments. The cases that challenges California disciplinary

Immorality, A subject that has become so common that we tend to just ignore it, or perhaps we don't even care anymore. Our own americans don't care about the safety and integrity we once had; within the current year there has been 3,228 murders by gun, 410 deaths due to domestic violence, and 9,495 deaths due to drunken driving. Currently as if May on average the death rate of murders by a firearm is ten per day, one die a day due to domestic violence, and drunken driving racks up twenty-six deaths per day. However, the thing to be feared of is that thirty-six americans die per day on average due to three easily avoidable actions. . Within barely four months of 2018 crimes and deaths have skyrocketed and with the current legal punishment system its slowed down some but its

The Mass Incarceration in the United States is a major topic of discussion in our society and has raised many questions about our criminal justice system. There are few topics disputed as much in criminal justice as the relationship between race, ethnicity, and criminal outcomes. Specifically, the large disparities that minorities face regarding incarceration in our country. Minorities such as Hispanics and African Americans are sentenced at far higher rates than their white counterparts. There are multiple factors that influence this such as the judicial system, racial profiling by law enforcement, and historical biases (Kamula, Clark-Coulson, Kamula, 2010). Additionally, the defendants race was found to be highly associated with either a jail or prison sentence; with the “odds increasing 29 percent for black defendants, and 44 percent for Hispanic defendants” (King, Johnson, McGeever, 2010).