Persuasive Essay On Mental Justice

Mass incarceration is an issue that defines us as a society. Today, the United States of America makes up about five percent of the world’s population and has twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners. Also, one of every one hundred adults are locked up, and one in every thirty-seven adults in the United States is under some form of correctional supervision: in addition, African Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites. Young black people went through many difficulties; however, they are still called super predators by Hillary Clinton. One of many difficulties is the African slavery, although it was over a century ago, it left a scar and a horrible memory in everyone's mind. All the phenomenons that occurred in our country during the last century gathered thoughts and escalated the problem of mass incarceration which made the people including the police look differently at African American people. I am against the mass incarceration issue. Opposing Donald Trump, I think we should reduce the number of people behind bars with cautions, because It is a complex subject that has many causes and effects in the long term to the people inside and outside the prison.

The American Criminal Justice System are sets of agencies and process made by the government to control crime and to penalize those who commit it. The justice system is different based one’s jurisdiction, meaning city, state, federal or tribal government or military installation. The Criminal System is divided into two main parts, the state and the federal. The state portion handles crimes within its state boundaries. The federal portion handles crime committed on Federal property or in two or more states (“Criminal Justice” 1). The American Criminal Justice System needs reform because of its emphasizes on incarceration punishment rather than Rehabilitation. Our justice system especially enforces punishment on blacks and Latinos resulting of overpopulation of prisons like Rikers Island for petty crimes. Also, another reform needed the juvenile cases. For example, juveniles who commit petty crimes shouldn’t be sent to adult prison and shouldn’t be near more dangerous and serious inmates.

Do you think it is right for a person to murder someone and say that they did it because they are mentally ill? It is wrong for a person to get out of their punishment for their action by using the insanity plea. If someone commits a crime and has no previous record of being insane, how could they become mentally ill? The only reason people use the insanity plea is to get off the hook for committing a crime. The insanity defense plea is probably one of the most controversial of all the criminal defense strategies, and at the same time is one of the most used. In many cases, when it has been used, it has tended to cause public debate. Opinion polls indicate that 90 percent of the public believes the insanity defense is overused and a ticket to freedom (Maier, 1998). The insanity defense plea is split into two types; one being not guilty by mental disease or defect and not competent to stand trial (“Criminal Defenses”).  The insanity defense plea should not be used in a capital murder case, unless a previously diagnosed mental illness is recorded.

Neo soul artist, Angie Stone puts to lyrics what many Black women have been thinking about Black men for years when she said "you got mad issues, and you tend to refuse every opportunity to right your wrong". Because the women in our lives, who know us so intimately and care for us so deeply, can see when we are hurting or responding out of pain. But Black men young and old are walking around with anger, hurt, and stress which is literally sucking the joy out our lives through high blood pressure, impotence, fatigue, alcoholism, and many other physical and emotional manifestations as the result of poor mental health. However, many of us stubbornly refuse to get the mental health help that is needed to be better men - husbands, fathers, boyfriends, or just plain ole emotionally whole.

Police officers are individuals who enforce the law upon their community to ensure that their citizens remain safe. In the past couple of years, officers of the law have been involved in acts of brutality that seem to go beyond the proper measurements of protection for their citizens. Policemen are supposed to protect their citizens from danger and from harm, not impose a threat on them. The fact that officers have a history of abusing their power indicates that their trust amongst the community has been corrupted. Those who have been affected of police brutality feel as though they have been deceived. They no longer feel that police officers will protect them, but rather abuse them, and that is a problem. We have began to live in a community in which an individual feels frightened when seeing a cop, rather than feeling protected. Some individuals may argue that police brutality is not a problem due to the fact that it is not consistent enough to catch the attention of needing a solution. However, that idea means little when the level of brutality has led to the death of several innocent victims in some cases. We must not wait for there to be a pattern of death at the hands of police officials to consider this a problem. One death indicates that preventive measures must be taken to ensure that these officers are no longer put in the position to abuse their power to begin with.

Social justice is the fair and proper law that shows everybody is equal regardless of their color, race, gender, religion, etc. The thought of executing another human being is completely harsh! My whole life I have been thought that killing is wrong and that no human being has the right to kill another induvial. To my surprise, it’s what’s happening in our society every day. Giving the death penalty, has no justification. It’s another crime being committed, but this time by the government. The death penalty is usually given to a person that’s found guilty of a capital crime. However, it’s not easy to consider the death penalty as an easy way to punish the guilty. Though many people believe that the death penalty is the right way to punish people that has done hideous crimes, it’s possible to kill an innocent person, citizens pay million for the death penalty, and people of color are more likely to be given capital punishment. The death penalty is a violation of human rights and it should be abolished.

Police officers are generally well-respected in American society. They should be, since officers protect the public from drunk drivers, gunmen and other threats to the commonwealth. However, in light of uncovered events involving the misconduct of police officers, these events call into question the ability of police officers to successfully protect and serve the American people. However, in 2010, 6,613 law enforcement officers were reported for involvement in misconduct which varied from excessive force, sexual misconduct et cetera (Packman). Having 6,613 reported cases of police misconduct in America is ridiculous, especially since it is hard validating the claims against officers and it is difficult to punish officers because of this lack of evidence. While the purpose of police officers in society is to protect the commonwealth of the people, the amount of police misconduct in the United States of America involving excessive force and sexual misconduct is detrimental to the credibility of all police officers. This in turn causes rifts and distrust among the American people concerning officers. Police misconduct can be reduced in American society by requiring police officers to wear cameras while on duty, having a clear definition on what excessive force is and defining how much force is legal for an officer to utilize, and better training geared to improve overall conduct with citizens, especially mentally ill citizens.

In Bryan Stevenson's book “Just Mercy”, he discussed how many people are put on death row. He is a real lawyer who had to deal with inmates who were put on death row even if they said they were innocent. It made him realize how bad our criminal justice system is. Injustice, racism, and socioeconomic statuses were the main huge reasons why some were executed. Wealthy, poor, having no criminal records or having a few; there will always be discrimination towards those who are black.

Youth incarceration is a growing dilemma in the United States that populates facilities as well as ruins lives at an alarming rate. As a society we cannot expect our kids to be the future of this nation when we are placing them in facilities where they become victims of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that is far worse for them than adults. Michelle Alexander is a professor at Ohio State University and a graduate of Standford Law school. She states in her award-winning book, The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness "Children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted once being placed into a facility" (Alexander,123).  Adolescents being detained causes many problems that are much more detrimental to them than adults. Some of them will now have exposure to drugs and gangs. Others will become victims of sexual abuse from other older inmates or staff members and risk transmitting sexual diseases. Most young juveniles have a mental illness that has not been treated or they become suicidal when staying in a facility.  These young people are still adapting to their environment and should not be treated as adults.  They are unable to grow and develop when we are punishing them like adults and trapping them in the US justice system.  The families of these children will now suffer knowing what their child faces in these facilities. As a nation we cannot consider ourselves civilized when we are placing these young people in facilities that punish them like adults.

Many factors can contribute to this problem the police force is having with police officers abuse of power, one of them being the psychological health of police officers where they aren’t fit to serve and protect the people they sworn to protect. After the shooting of an unarmed woman at Capitol Hill, The National Allegiance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) started what is to be the most Comprehensive Police Officer mental health program in the country, this 40 hours crisis intervention program is available in 45 states as well as the district of Columbia, excluded are the state of Delaware, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas and Rhode Island. Needless to say a few departments are working hard to improve the quality and integrity of their officers to eliminate the raising percentage of officers committing abuse to those who they sworn to protect.

The officer was called to assist the woman’s son but instead he was murdered. Police officers use their weapons under any circumstances. Officers need to be trained to deal with any situation, even an emergency of a mentally ill person without having to go as far as shooting someone all because he felt threatened. There needs to be new training exercise provided for the police departments to help reduce the murders and harassment against minorities based on the inability to handle someone.

Chaos. The sound of gunfire is overwhelming. Dirt and dust is everywhere. The heads of children are swimming with drugs; cocaine, alcohol, gunpowder. Small fingers meant for crayons and fingerpaint tighten on the triggers of lethal firearms. Brainwashed armies of humans under five feet kill innocent civilians, all in the name of power. If these children were forced to live in these terrible conditions every day, they shouldn’t be prosecuted. However, they shouldn’t be welcomed with open, understanding arms, and be immediately set free into society after their minds have been twisted by drugs and abuse, either. These situations are tricky, full of tangled opinions and hateful thoughts. Even so, without a doubt, rehabilitation is the answer. Immediate incarceration won’t solve the problem of these young immigrants, it will only further stuff America’s overcrowded prisons, making them full to bursting. The United States must turn to rehabilitation, not incarceration.

Many schools implement the concept of restorative justice, in particular; Good Shepherd Catholic College Mount Isa. The college implements restorative justice in their disciplinary system, they’ve created a new process in dealing with misbehavior through the Responsible Thinking Process (RTP). This process allows the the students to identify what's wrong in their behavior and gives them a chance to reflect upon this. The student is first warned when they misbehave then the teacher proceeds to give them a second chance to correct said behavior after a warning. If the student continues to misbehave, the teacher will go through the responsible thinking process in which they ask “What are you doing? What should you be doing? Where will you go if this continues to happens again?” This allows the students to take responsibility for their actions and think about their wrongdoings which allows them to correct themselves. This is more effective than sending a student away and punishing them, because without verbally addressing the issue, they don’t understand the repercussions of their actions and will often re-offend. If the student then chooses to misbehave again they will be sent to The Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC), in which they will have to further reflect on their actions. Once this process has occurred, they then have to negotiate with their teachers about returning to the class and what they have to do, in order to be allowed in. (Good Shepherd Catholic College, 2017)

Imagine you are a teen walking down the street with a friend. Now imagine being surrounded by police and getting searched for something that is not there. Since the item in question can not be placed the accuser changes their story; After multiple versions of what allegedly happened the police arrest you and your friend. Due to having a history of theft, a judge charges you with second degree robbery, even though there is no evidence to prove any wrong doing. Thinking the justice system will come through, and knowing your innocence, a trial is requested. Bail is set and cannot be paid due to economic hardship. Another consequence of not having money for bail, is there is also no money for a private attorney. A public defender, who has to many cases to keep straight, is assigned to help defend in court, yet he is trying to lessen his load and recommends several times that a plea deal is the best option that should be taken, even in the case of innocence. Picture holding out hope that if the case could just go to trial all would come to light. Four years pass by, mostly spent in solitary confinement, where the harsh circumstances begin to take a toll, mentally and physically. Imagine conditions so horrible, death seems better than enduring another day. Now picture the day for “justice” is finally here. No sooner does court get started it ends. The case gets thrown out due to the person who started all of this not being present. All the suffering that has been endured,

“Americans have always had ambivalent feelings about crime and punishment” (71). Many say our American System of Justice is broken, for they believe the system is looking to just punish those who have done wrong and is not looking to rehabilitate them, especially for juveniles. Then there are some who say, the American System of Justice does not need to change for it already punishes criminals with due process, and rehabilitates them. The American System of Justice should change the way they punish criminals, because those who are incarcerated for nonviolent crimes are taking up space in our prison system, juveniles are being put in solitary confinement and coming out more damaged than they were, and lastly some offenders are serving to long for the crime they committed.