The House I Live In Summary

Less restrictive drug laws would lower the population of prisons. Courts deal with a high amount cases due to drugs. According to Goldberg (2012), the criminal justice system is becoming ineffective because of the high amounts of drug cases which, is overburdening the system. This means that there are too many cases that are being processed through the system, which creates an issue of overcrowding in prisons. The mandatory minimum laws create a burden for the system because all of the cases have to be processes creating an ineffective system. According to Nutt, King, and Nichols (2013), there are extreme legal consequences for drug possession. Less restrictive laws would help alleviate the burden on the system. By having less restrictive laws the amount of cases would drop greatly and then the system would be more effective than it is right now.

In A Home Is Not a House, Reyner Banham starts by arguing that the main function of the typic American house is to cover its mechanical structure. In fact, he states that the use of mechanical services in architectural practice varies constantly because mechanical services are considered to be new in the profession, as well as, a cultural threat to the architect’s position in the world. To show his argument, Banham states that American houses are basically large single spaces divided by partitions inside that give a relative importance to the use of internal mechanical services, causing a threat to the need of architectural design. Similarly, American cultural characteristics, like cleanliness and hygiene, also foster the use and need of mechanical

Upon further research, I have found that different prison systems throughout the world are more successful than the one here in the United States. According to BusinessInsider.com, Norway relies on something called “restorative justice” which aims to repair the harm caused by crime rather than punish people. In places such as Thailand, Dubai, Malaysia and other countries, certain crimes will lead to an automatic execution, which helps them with their crime rates. Politics are heavily related with the prison system in the United States because we are more focused on making money rather than making things better. The more people we have contained in prison, the more inside work we can do without having to pay more money. As mentioned in the documentary, certain companies were working under the curtain and did not stop until they were exposed. I personally feel as though our government is focused on other things and could care less about our prison population or how to fix

One morning, i was in 6th grade, my sister and I wake up, and we are home alone. We heard large noises on the porch. We went to go peek through the curtain, and there was a man lying on our porch. I called the neighbors, and we both hopped the fence and they let us in. The cops had then been called, while the stranger was still on our porch. The cops arrive and get the stranger and his information. The following day, we found out the man was on probation. The significance of this day, was the neighbors, that we are good friends with, helped us out in the moment of panic, and my sister and I not knowing what to do. Transformation that created fear of this day, was when we were home alone getting ready for school around 10:30, and then having a stranger at my doorstep. Also, not knowing what to do at that one moment of panic at time.

Another downside to the incarceration method of dealing with drug offenders is the fact that a social inequality is formed once they are released from prison. Former inmates are treated less than normal non convict citizens making it hard for them to find decent housing, sufficient paying jobs, and people in which to form meaningful relations with. A lack of these things can bring them back to a performing criminal acts, going farther than just substance abuse in order to make a living that they can’t do with a legitimate job. Another major impact that mass incarceration is having on society in the United States is in the political sector as felons are often stripped of their voting rights. Of course this can be seen as negative or positive depending on your political views, but the fact remains that with a large amount of the population being unable to vote outcomes in elections could be much different (Moroney).

America’s prisons are the most populated in the world, and they are disproportionately populated by minorities due to the set of mandatory imprisonment policies set in place. Over the past five decades, the disparity between races has widened dramatically according to the National Center on Institutions. In the 1950’s, blacks and Hispanics were the minorities in the prison system, whereas today whites are. Is this due to poverty? I’m sure poverty plays a big role in most cases.

In 1971 on June 17, President Richard Nixon delivered a special message to the Congress on drug abuse prevention and control. During the presentation, Nixon made it clear that the United States was at war with this idea of drug abuse. What baffled Americans then, and still baffles Americans today, is that we are at war with our own nation with drugs; it is not some foreign affair like the media tends to focus on with Mexico. Nixon stated that at the time of his speech, what was implemented to control drug abuse was not working…“The problem has assumed the dimensions of a national emergency. I intend to take every step necessary to deal with this emergency, including asking the Congress for an amendment to my 1972 budget to provide an

One way that could help is to have more probation officers in order to watch over the offenders so that we could keep the non-violent drug offenders within the communities. I do not think that non-violent offender should be put into prisons where they are liable to learn new "tricks". They need to learn a different way, not a way that they can learn in prison. They need help

According to the webpage DrugPolicy.org, under the section titled “Approaches to decriminalize drug use” it states that the best solution to reduce the number of people being swept into jail or prison is to enact various forms of decriminalizing drug use and possession. “Decriminalizing is the removal of criminal penalties for drug

The second thing we must look at is mandatory sentencing. I agree that we should have mandatory sentencing. You can read different studies that it does not work and it takes power away from judges. Sometimes trial rates and sentencing delays occur because of mandatory sentencing. Just think of how many repeat offenders we would have if it was not in place. I do think that it is somewhat of a deterrent for the small time users on the street. Research has shown that it is the low-level street dealers, mules and addicts that this affects most, but if we didn’t start with them then where? You must punish the user just as much as the dealer or “kingpins”. The dealers would not have any business if it was not for the users and if we can get to them easier than the main dealers, than I am all for mandatory sentencing.

All the drug related charges are forcing the prison population into overwhelming numbers. Were drug usage decriminalized this could relieve some of the stress on the penal system. Baird states in her piece that the prison population would diminish greatly with legalization and all the money saved can then be used for many more beneficial things “…like treatment for addiction, health, and prevention.” Walter, standing on the

There are groups of people in the criminal justice system who considers drug addiction a personal issue, not a criminal one. This could not be further from the truth; drug abuse is illegal and should be treated as such. It is a catalyst for many crimes seen today from mugging to murder. If the numbers of those who abuse drugs are reduced, the amount of crimes associated with the addiction are also reduced. Not only will crime levels be reduced, most of those who undergo treatment tend to be better prepared to do more with their lives and not re-offend.

One of the most profound problems that plagues our society is drug addiction. With drug addiction comes those who offend and have run-ins with the law. Our country deals with these drug-addicted offenders by placing them in jails for a year or longer, only to have them come back out to society when their sentence is over. They are still drug-addicts and so they return to the street only to commit yet another crime. From here the cycle of crime, arrest, jail, and return to society continues, solving absolutely nothing. Therefore, placing drug-addicted offenders in jails fails to confront the major problem at hand which is that of the drug abuse. If drug-addicted offenders were placed in drug treatment centers instead of being incarcerated,

“The House I Live In,” a movie that explains the war on drugs from multiple perspectives from addict to enforcement and lawmaker between.

One place that I see every day but don’t put much attention to is my house. The house that I live in is near by a park and a gas station. My house is small and cozy is made of steel frames, the anterior part of the house has a beige and pink color that combine a beautiful shade. The inside of my house has many portraits of family members and drawings. I have a total of two bathrooms and four rooms a kitchen and two living rooms. We have a living room that’s used for grown-ups and the other one is used for the children. The kitchen table and chairs are made of wood, in the ceiling there is big chandelier. The walls of my house are painted in different colors that are green, beige and pink. I like that every room has its own different color, it’s not boring it brings life and shade.