I did not know that America was the number one country for incarcerating our criminals. Obviously we need to do something about this, but it is way more complex than this man throws at us. He tells us how we incarcerate the most people and blah blah blah. I completely agree with him, but it also is something that will take years to change. We would have problems with the economy and so on if we just decided to let a huge portion of criminals out. I think that it has definately changed considering that in 2010 the United States topped out on Incarceration amounts. I think that putting more people on probation or fining them would be a way better approach, but it can't happen in 1 year. It will take multiple years, most likely over a decade to get our incarceration numbers down to a reasonable comparison with other countries. I think probation and fining would mean more money for the government to spend on other things such as education.
I agree with you on making the change on lowering the number. I feel that this issue needs to be resolved but as you mentioned it will take time, I agree. I liked that you suggested that putting more people on probation than sending them to prison could help with the number decreasing. Which could be a possibility of helping to lower the number compared to other countries. JoJo678
I understand that we have so many people locked up. I also understand that lock up more people than any other country. If you do the crime you do the time. I would rather pay all the money we do for those prison than have the men in those prisons on the streets. People also act like there nothing happening to decrease those numbers when there is. The law enforcers are more heavily on fines and probation's. That is good but if you commit a crime and you're a danger to the public. Then you need to be locked up. I don't care if you're a dad or a mom with one child. You are a danger to the people including that child. That is one think I do like about our country is that we don't mess around. If you mess up you deserve punishment one way or another. It takes time to decrease the number of people in prison that we have. I do believe that things will only get better.
I completely agree with having people do the time for their crime. But I also think that people shouldn't have such harsh punishments for something so small. An individual selling drugs, or even just having drugs on them shouldn't receive a 10 year sentence. Give them a lesser punishment. When they constantly become repeat offenders is when they should have harsher punishments. modified678
I completely agree and that is where the probation and fines come in. the states are realizing how having possession of drugs don't need to be so serious of a punishment. so instead of sending you to prison you will just get fined. Now selling is a little worse than having drugs on you.
Sadly, this is not a new fact to me, nor is it that unbelievable. We have too many factors that all feed this number, and it would be very difficult to curve our numbers down while they all still play a role. Some of these are the overall high numbers of poverty-ridden families, racism mixed with the increasing amounts of immigration, and the overall attitude of citizens in this country. Following these issues, we also are catching more crimes with increased technology. Sadly, we are still faulted and some innocent people go to prison, but that will be a factor no matter where one lives. Another issue might lie in the reformation process of incarceration, as repeat offenses have increasing penalties in regards to fines and jail time. Incarceration might also provide its own issue, as when people go in they are likely to be approached by a gang. While it is not very important how the gang approaches them, either recruited or extorted, there will always be a backlash. I suppose what I mean to say is that with all the factors that go into the prison system as it stands in the United States, we really have a problem on our hands with the incarceration field of our justice system.
I knew that a good chunk of people were in jails and prisons in the U.S. but I did not know that the number was that big. It is crazy to think that the U.S is the number one on the list. When I see that number, I feel like we could decrease that number and maybe help bring debt down as well, due to all the prisons and jails we have across the U.S.. I do not think this could come down instantly but maybe if we viewed the way punishments are being handled we could decrease those numbers. At the same time, I am not stating that those people in prison or jails do not deserve punishment but I feel that those punishments should be reevaluated. It is sad that this is starting to become a more realistic issue across the U.S.but at the same time if you do the crime you do the time. I feel like there is not a great solution for this problem but in the near future we as a country need to find some relevant solution to this issue. JoJo678
I agree that debt would go down if there was a smaller prison population. And i also agree that some peoples punishments need to be reevaluated because there are thousands of people serving time for things that aren't as serious as murder or rape.
I totally agree with what you are saying about reevaluating the punishments of some of those criminals locked away in our prisons and jails. This may not make a big difference at first but eventually it could. I also agree with you when we could be slimming down on the people locked away and put that money toward our huge debt we have. AD678
I can honestly agree with the video that the American criminal justice system needs to be reformed. The cost of housing so many inmates is outrageous. But i think the whole reason why there are so many inmates is because we are a country that is truly free. But that means that some people take advantage of that and end up in prison. Something needs to be done to lower the number of people incarcerated in the United states. If this happens then there will be less money needed to fund the state prisons/jails. We may be a free country but we are also a very strict country putting millions of people behind bars every single year.
I agree with you that there are many people out there taking advantage of their own freedoms and it is leading them to do dumb things. People know that when they get locked up for minor offenses they will be let out in a few years and then be let free to do their own thing again. Tex678
This is a sad but true fact, when people are incarcerated who foots the bill? The tax payers. Being a nation in debt, can we really afford to foot the bill for those that have broken a law? The same laws that are aimed at protecting people? Why should law abiding, tax paying citizens be forced to pay for those who chose to break the law? Prison reform needs to happen. Reducing the number of inmates is one solution, but another would be to make a prison self-sustainable. With having farms on prison property, run by inmates, you would reduce the amount spent on food. When prisoners are used as workers, they have a sense of self ownership and pride in the job they do. Knowing that each job is important moral would increase leading to a decreased depression rate. This is the type of prison reform that needs to be implemented if they refuse to release people and decrease the prison population.
I agree with your opinion. I think tax payers have to pay way too much money for these prisons. It's almost like being punished for obeying the law. You hear about these prisons that are kind of luxurious and prisoners just sit back and soak it all up. If we had prisoners work it may help them learn discipline and it can help with payments. It would be a win/win. cowboy678
I also agree with these two statements. Prison if it were more of a punishment then a separation from society would be more effective. If prison were harsher maybe people would fear breaking the law more, but i think before we do make the prison a harder place for inmate we must rethink our laws. The constitution allows for a person to be secure in person, papers,houses, and effects, so then how can we punish people if their actions harm no one else but them selves? We have given into to many moral outrage groups and need to shrink the federal reach to allow the sovereign states to decide more of the parameters of morality. Until we down size the federal strangle hold on states rights the constituents of those states will struggle for freedom and we will see no to little change in the incarceration rates. Scraut678
These numbers are stunning! I didn't know there were so many people living among correctional facilities all across the nation. I was also shocked to see that our own federal government has imprisoned so many individuals. Why do we imprison more people than any other country? Are our laws just too strict? Or are our peers just that radical? The amount of money the United States spends to keep prisons running is ridiculous. That money could be better used elsewhere. The authorities/government officials are trying to reduce prison population, but i believe it will take some time in order for us to see a drastic change.
These numbers are crazy and I did not know that this many people were incarcerated in the United States. I agree with this video in the fact that our criminal justice system needs to be reformed. I do believe that if you do the crime then you do the time, however we need to lower the penalty's for minor, or first time offences. Instead of 15-20 years maybe give them 5-10. It all comes down to us, and we are the ones paying to have these criminals locked up for all these years. If we lower these sentences we can start spending less money locking these people up and spend more on patrolling or things that stop these criminals from the start. We don't see nearly as many problems in other places of the world and those other places don't lock up nearly as many people as we do. Something definitely needs to change, instead of just building more prisons to just lock more people up. AD678
I totally agree with you about the criminal justice system. It's too many people in jail for simple cases like weed they need to find a better way to help these people other them throwing them in jail. Some changes definitely need to happen. I rather for them to build more rehab centers then more jails cause a people that's going to do cracked still will still it after they come home from jail. I just couldn't believe that many people was In jail like that. This is sad to say
I am not surprised that America has the highest prison rate in the world. With that being said, I am shocked with the numbers of people that are in prison and that doesn't even include people awaiting trial. I do think that our system needs to change with how we incarcerate prisoners. It is clear that money is a problem when dealing with this many inmates. I also feel that some people that are in prison do not belong there even if they did commit a crime. Prison should be a place where people are locked up because they are a menace to society. So if you ask me I wouldn't exactly throw the book at people for first time offenders(depending on the crime). I also would take a less harsh punishment on people who are charged with petty crimes. I feel if we take those kind of people away from the correction system it can help. One thing the video forgot to also mention is that their are many people who walk away when they commit a serious crime and they don't have to face a consequence when they should. The system is a lot more complicated than people think. cowboy678
Isn't it sad when we are more shocked by sheer statistics than we are about the knowledge of our high incarceration rate? Then we also have to worry about the money part, but we do have to also see the picture of why we have such a high rate to begin with. We do have quite the issue in this country and I sadly feel it won't go away for a long while.
I believe this video goes to show the far over reaching powers of our federal government. Not only do the people have to fear their government on local levels due to blue laws ( moral enforcement) but on a federal level as well. This dual system of enforcement doesn't allow the american populace to be truly free and hinders the sovereignty of all 50 states. There use to be two was you could vote in this country one by ballot or election and the other with your feet. The meaning of having 50 united states was so that every one could move relatively short distances and till find a community that matched their moral fiber or code. The united states is no longer a constitutionally upheld weave of sovereign nations but one in which the federal government now intrusively forces and bashes the citizens into compliance. It is a sad time in american history that we no longer run of logic and reason but emotion and moral subjection in order to make a few loud over zealous groups on both sides of the fence happy and appeased. The only way in my opinion to shrink and correct this is to end the federal out reach and once again allow states to regain sovereignty and reign over their constituents in the fashion in which the populace votes and elects in. The federal government only concern with states should be to make sure each state provides the constitutional rights and no longer enforces a federal moral code. This will allow people to trust more in the government as well as allow people to go back to voting with their feet. Other wise we will no longer be land of the free as far as land of the brave i believe that died out a long time ago. Scraut678
For me to here this is old news, ive been hearing about how we imprison and incarcerate more people than any other country even when they compare us to larger countries like China and Russia. I don't think reforming the way we do things is so much necessary as becoming more lenient on misdemeanor crimes we arrest people and imprison people for such petty things witch only in term cost us more money on a criminal who got a dui to many times. I think we should reform on how we rehabilitate prisoners or people who commit crimes, try to make the individual better not throw him in a cell. wreked678
I kind of disagree with the whole DUI thing. If someone continually is getting nailed for a DUI then yeah they need to be in jail. That is not necessarily a drinking issue. Plenty of alcoholics don't drink and drive. It could go both ways, maybe they do have a drinking problem or they are just being ignorant of the law and refuse to abide by the laws. Rehabiliation can only go so far. The issue that comes along with rehabiliation is that you can't fix someone who doesn't want to be fixed. I'm all for helping people and believe that is the answer to some cases, not all. Bama678
Definitely agree on the rehabilitation of criminals! I feel like our tax dollars should go to helping them get on the right path instead of being thrown in prisons to wither their life away. I agree that repeat offenders do need to be sentenced harsher. One question do you believe even though they are repeat offenders do they need like steps till them are imprisoned? Say like rehab then probation, and then prison? I hope you understand my question. Spartan678
Like the guy in the video said, it is crazy to think that the nation who broadcasts "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" locks up the highest amount of people. It is incredibly wild to think that we house the most out of 9.8 million locked up. Whether all of them are guilty of severe crimes or not (deserving of having their rights taken away), that's still way too many people living without the freedoms that they were once promised.
1.6 million post trial inmates in our nation alone. I guess that makes sense because of all the 4,500 federal crimes that could be potentially violated. In theory it's almost difficult to live as an American due to the fear that you could be one of the "743 people for every 100k" that get sent to prison.
I understand that if people are committing crimes, they deserve to be punished, but what if they are feeling pressured to? What if it's things like the economy, or certain regulations on procedures that makes a person try their chances at committing a crime, hoping to not get caught?
The video failed to mention at all what the people in our prisons are being incarcerated for. Throwing numbers around can make anything look good or bad. What really matters in why the people are being incarcerated. We have strict laws in the United States, especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs. Research shows that a large portion of prison inmates are in there on drug charges. Our drug laws are gradually starting to decrease as time goes on but they are still pretty strict on things such as marijuana. Some countries have a lower drinking age than 21 and because of that there are not so many people in their prison systems. Our justice system has its baggage and is not always as fair as the public would like. If people don't want to be incarcerated then don't break the law. The laws were put in place for a reason. The biggest issue today is the drug laws and they are beginning to be more lenient with those. I think our incarceration rates will gradually begin to decline with due time. Bama678
I agree with you. Most of our youth is being incarcerated for drugs and under age drinking which can lead to criminal active. I don't agree with lowering the age limit on drinking. Drinking is for adults. When your 21 I don't think your frontal lobe has developed enough to make decisions sober let alone intoxicated. The crime rate will go through the roof with that new law. Motherof4678
I agree with you about how we have really strong drug laws in america, not that we don't need them just I feel that they should be different levels of punishment for those that get caught with drugs. I also agree with you about that if you don't want to end up in prison don't be dumb. The laws where put in place for a reason. Gt_racer678
One of my favorite quotes by far made by an inmate was "I am doing life in prison for pot." This shows that the CJ system is extremely messed up. Murderers can do 10 years in prison but someone has a life sentence for pot? The legalization of marijuana in Colorado has shown to decrease the number of "drug crimes" and has greatly improved the tax revenue for the state! Medic678
I new that the United States was one of the top countries for having people incarcerated, but didn't realize that we where number one and by so much more then most countries. I though that it is crazy that America is responsible for 4.5% of the worlds population, which is a small portion. But we are also responsible for 23% of the worlds prison population. Looking at those numbers it is scary to think that on the news you hear about all the bad things that happen all over the world and the things people do in other countries. But we have the highest amount of people in prison in the world at 1.6 million people in prison. I think that this is so high because of all the small time criminals are put away. For example people that are found with a controlled substance or people that get caught pirating things. Yes, these are things that we shouldn't take lightly, but why not have were we have more people on house arrest that can be monitored, but don't have to loose everything because of dumb decisions. Gt_racer678
I completely agree with you on the fact that a lot of people are put away for small time crimes and that the system could go another way about penalizing those that aren’t really a threat to society. You pretty much said it best when you said that no one should have to lose everything because of one wrong decision. –GFM678
It’s a little crazy to think that the United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. The number that really stuck out to me was that, 743 out of every 100,000 Americans are in prison. The way I see it, is that either you or someone in your family is almost guaranteed to serve time in prison. I feel if the system put more work into giving hope to those that are constantly in and out of prison, that the number would decrease tremendously. I understand this was in 2010 and that the numbers have dropped since then, but even as today the system still holds a significant amount of prisoners. They have room for a change to help better these people lives to keep them out of the system, and drop their numbers even more. By doing so they could also save a lot of money instead of spending 40 billion dollars on people that could be given treatment and help so that they can have a chance to succeed outside of the bars in this “free” world. -GFM678
I know that U.S. had so many people in lock up it’s not anything knew there is evil in the world. Now don't get me wrong there are a lot of people incarcerated that shouldn't be. Yes, there are the marijuana users that are in for very minor charges at least to my opinion. But I also want to talk about states that don't have stand your ground laws or self-defense laws. Yes there are very few times that a person protecting themselves gets charged with murder but there are a few people in the states like Arizona and California that get locked up for protecting themselves. I do believe that there are a lot of people that deserve to be in jail and sentenced to what they deserve. I think that it is awful that there are so many people incarcerated but at the same time laws are laws and if you break them you need to be punished accordingly. But where do we go from here? Legalize certain drugs? Legalize drug trafficking and start taxing it? Another thing is how many offenses have these individuals committed? That will open so many more doors to legalizing other more serious things. My question is how far do we go till we completely do away with right and wrong and live with extreme amounts of liberty? So, I do agree that it is a terrible thing so many are in lock but I just don't exactly know how we fix it. My best idea would be government programs on a tight watch along the lines of a half-way house and mentor these individuals deemed by society of "lesser crimes" to help create better individuals like some programs do instead of just throwing them in lock up. I think very large fines should be put in place instead of lock up and being paid to live (hope this doesn't sound too harsh) but tax payers shouldn't has to pay for someone who have committed crimes. I think a lot of people take crimes lightly because of the fact that life is sometimes easier depending on the situations. Spartan678
I think we just lock up our people when in reality we should maybe try another approach. There is something obviously not working considering most people in prison are have prior conviction. It starts at home..it starts in school..we have to raise our children to want to work for the jails and prisons instead of putting them in front of video games and having the wrong people around them....No one wakes up and say I'm going to go commit a crime today. They are learning this from somewhere. Maybe we should ask the others countries what they are doing to cut back on crime.. There are lots of big brother and big sister programs out here. Make them go do something positive in the world. You can't make a difference in the world if you not out in it MotherOf4678
Growing up as a correctional officer's son I have had some knowledge of the prison system and its over population problems. I think one of the problems is that our prison system compared to that of China or Russia is people in those countries have a great fear of getting locked up in their prison. Unlike in the US where the prisoners know that they will get three hot meals and a bed each night if they are well behaved. Tex678
I think it's funny how we don't know what to do with the prisoners so we think over flowing the jails will make things better. It's weird how the video never said any thing about why so many are their. To tell you the truth the USA are bullies . We are also lazy we just lock people up and throw away the key. We have so many people locked up and for what reason ? Most of the people in jail are in their for small crimes .
I agree with the guy from the video it's too many people locked up for petty things. Jail to me was never created for all these small crimes such as getting caught with weed like that's just something that they could have through out from the get go. Then I never knew do many people was in jail it's just crazy all these people is locked up for petty reasons. But the that say the land of the free the home of the brave I mean you do have to be brave going into that place. This just crazy they need a better way of dealing with people with these petty cases. Start something other then putting them in jail over simple things jail was created for people dealing with murder cases and other serious cases. I just never thought we had so many people locked up behind bars like animals Lashay678
So many incarcerated....Natural678
ReplyDeleteI did not know that America was the number one country for incarcerating our criminals. Obviously we need to do something about this, but it is way more complex than this man throws at us. He tells us how we incarcerate the most people and blah blah blah. I completely agree with him, but it also is something that will take years to change. We would have problems with the economy and so on if we just decided to let a huge portion of criminals out. I think that it has definately changed considering that in 2010 the United States topped out on Incarceration amounts. I think that putting more people on probation or fining them would be a way better approach, but it can't happen in 1 year. It will take multiple years, most likely over a decade to get our incarceration numbers down to a reasonable comparison with other countries. I think probation and fining would mean more money for the government to spend on other things such as education.
ReplyDeleteSH678
I agree with you on making the change on lowering the number. I feel that this issue needs to be resolved but as you mentioned it will take time, I agree. I liked that you suggested that putting more people on probation than sending them to prison could help with the number decreasing. Which could be a possibility of helping to lower the number compared to other countries.
DeleteJoJo678
I understand that we have so many people locked up. I also understand that lock up more people than any other country. If you do the crime you do the time. I would rather pay all the money we do for those prison than have the men in those prisons on the streets. People also act like there nothing happening to decrease those numbers when there is. The law enforcers are more heavily on fines and probation's. That is good but if you commit a crime and you're a danger to the public. Then you need to be locked up. I don't care if you're a dad or a mom with one child. You are a danger to the people including that child. That is one think I do like about our country is that we don't mess around. If you mess up you deserve punishment one way or another. It takes time to decrease the number of people in prison that we have. I do believe that things will only get better.
ReplyDeleteWrestler678
I completely agree with having people do the time for their crime. But I also think that people shouldn't have such harsh punishments for something so small. An individual selling drugs, or even just having drugs on them shouldn't receive a 10 year sentence. Give them a lesser punishment. When they constantly become repeat offenders is when they should have harsher punishments. modified678
DeleteI completely agree and that is where the probation and fines come in. the states are realizing how having possession of drugs don't need to be so serious of a punishment. so instead of sending you to prison you will just get fined. Now selling is a little worse than having drugs on you.
DeleteI agree that drug offenses especially weed dosent need to be a criminal offence witch throws you in jail or prison. wreked678
DeleteSadly, this is not a new fact to me, nor is it that unbelievable. We have too many factors that all feed this number, and it would be very difficult to curve our numbers down while they all still play a role. Some of these are the overall high numbers of poverty-ridden families, racism mixed with the increasing amounts of immigration, and the overall attitude of citizens in this country. Following these issues, we also are catching more crimes with increased technology. Sadly, we are still faulted and some innocent people go to prison, but that will be a factor no matter where one lives. Another issue might lie in the reformation process of incarceration, as repeat offenses have increasing penalties in regards to fines and jail time. Incarceration might also provide its own issue, as when people go in they are likely to be approached by a gang. While it is not very important how the gang approaches them, either recruited or extorted, there will always be a backlash. I suppose what I mean to say is that with all the factors that go into the prison system as it stands in the United States, we really have a problem on our hands with the incarceration field of our justice system.
ReplyDeleteBuc678
We need to just cut back on locking up every one we are having to much fun putting people in jail for stupid little crimes
DeleteWhy678
I knew that a good chunk of people were in jails and prisons in the U.S. but I did not know that the number was that big. It is crazy to think that the U.S is the number one on the list. When I see that number, I feel like we could decrease that number and maybe help bring debt down as well, due to all the prisons and jails we have across the U.S.. I do not think this could come down instantly but maybe if we viewed the way punishments are being handled we could decrease those numbers. At the same time, I am not stating that those people in prison or jails do not deserve punishment but I feel that those punishments should be reevaluated. It is sad that this is starting to become a more realistic issue across the U.S.but at the same time if you do the crime you do the time. I feel like there is not a great solution for this problem but in the near future we as a country need to find some relevant solution to this issue.
ReplyDeleteJoJo678
I agree that debt would go down if there was a smaller prison population. And i also agree that some peoples punishments need to be reevaluated because there are thousands of people serving time for things that aren't as serious as murder or rape.
Deletebaseball678
I totally agree with what you are saying about reevaluating the punishments of some of those criminals locked away in our prisons and jails. This may not make a big difference at first but eventually it could. I also agree with you when we could be slimming down on the people locked away and put that money toward our huge debt we have. AD678
DeleteI can honestly agree with the video that the American criminal justice system needs to be reformed. The cost of housing so many inmates is outrageous. But i think the whole reason why there are so many inmates is because we are a country that is truly free. But that means that some people take advantage of that and end up in prison. Something needs to be done to lower the number of people incarcerated in the United states. If this happens then there will be less money needed to fund the state prisons/jails. We may be a free country but we are also a very strict country putting millions of people behind bars every single year.
ReplyDeletebaseball678
I agree with you that there are many people out there taking advantage of their own freedoms and it is leading them to do dumb things. People know that when they get locked up for minor offenses they will be let out in a few years and then be let free to do their own thing again.
DeleteTex678
This is a sad but true fact, when people are incarcerated who foots the bill? The tax payers. Being a nation in debt, can we really afford to foot the bill for those that have broken a law? The same laws that are aimed at protecting people? Why should law abiding, tax paying citizens be forced to pay for those who chose to break the law? Prison reform needs to happen. Reducing the number of inmates is one solution, but another would be to make a prison self-sustainable. With having farms on prison property, run by inmates, you would reduce the amount spent on food. When prisoners are used as workers, they have a sense of self ownership and pride in the job they do. Knowing that each job is important moral would increase leading to a decreased depression rate. This is the type of prison reform that needs to be implemented if they refuse to release people and decrease the prison population.
ReplyDeleteMedic678
I agree with your opinion. I think tax payers have to pay way too much money for these prisons. It's almost like being punished for obeying the law. You hear about these prisons that are kind of luxurious and prisoners just sit back and soak it all up. If we had prisoners work it may help them learn discipline and it can help with payments. It would be a win/win. cowboy678
DeleteI also agree with these two statements. Prison if it were more of a punishment then a separation from society would be more effective. If prison were harsher maybe people would fear breaking the law more, but i think before we do make the prison a harder place for inmate we must rethink our laws. The constitution allows for a person to be secure in person, papers,houses, and effects, so then how can we punish people if their actions harm no one else but them selves? We have given into to many moral outrage groups and need to shrink the federal reach to allow the sovereign states to decide more of the parameters of morality. Until we down size the federal strangle hold on states rights the constituents of those states will struggle for freedom and we will see no to little change in the incarceration rates. Scraut678
DeleteThese numbers are stunning! I didn't know there were so many people living among correctional facilities all across the nation. I was also shocked to see that our own federal government has imprisoned so many individuals. Why do we imprison more people than any other country? Are our laws just too strict? Or are our peers just that radical? The amount of money the United States spends to keep prisons running is ridiculous. That money could be better used elsewhere. The authorities/government officials are trying to reduce prison population, but i believe it will take some time in order for us to see a drastic change.
ReplyDeletemodified678
DeleteThese numbers are crazy and I did not know that this many people were incarcerated in the United States. I agree with this video in the fact that our criminal justice system needs to be reformed. I do believe that if you do the crime then you do the time, however we need to lower the penalty's for minor, or first time offences. Instead of 15-20 years maybe give them 5-10. It all comes down to us, and we are the ones paying to have these criminals locked up for all these years. If we lower these sentences we can start spending less money locking these people up and spend more on patrolling or things that stop these criminals from the start. We don't see nearly as many problems in other places of the world and those other places don't lock up nearly as many people as we do. Something definitely needs to change, instead of just building more prisons to just lock more people up. AD678
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the criminal justice system. It's too many people in jail for simple cases like weed they need to find a better way to help these people other them throwing them in jail. Some changes definitely need to happen. I rather for them to build more rehab centers then more jails cause a people that's going to do cracked still will still it after they come home from jail. I just couldn't believe that many people was In jail like that. This is sad to say
DeleteI am not surprised that America has the highest prison rate in the world. With that being said, I am shocked with the numbers of people that are in prison and that doesn't even include people awaiting trial. I do think that our system needs to change with how we incarcerate prisoners. It is clear that money is a problem when dealing with this many inmates. I also feel that some people that are in prison do not belong there even if they did commit a crime. Prison should be a place where people are locked up because they are a menace to society. So if you ask me I wouldn't exactly throw the book at people for first time offenders(depending on the crime). I also would take a less harsh punishment on people who are charged with petty crimes. I feel if we take those kind of people away from the correction system it can help. One thing the video forgot to also mention is that their are many people who walk away when they commit a serious crime and they don't have to face a consequence when they should. The system is a lot more complicated than people think. cowboy678
ReplyDeleteIsn't it sad when we are more shocked by sheer statistics than we are about the knowledge of our high incarceration rate? Then we also have to worry about the money part, but we do have to also see the picture of why we have such a high rate to begin with. We do have quite the issue in this country and I sadly feel it won't go away for a long while.
DeleteBuc678
I believe this video goes to show the far over reaching powers of our federal government. Not only do the people have to fear their government on local levels due to blue laws ( moral enforcement) but on a federal level as well. This dual system of enforcement doesn't allow the american populace to be truly free and hinders the sovereignty of all 50 states. There use to be two was you could vote in this country one by ballot or election and the other with your feet. The meaning of having 50 united states was so that every one could move relatively short distances and till find a community that matched their moral fiber or code. The united states is no longer a constitutionally upheld weave of sovereign nations but one in which the federal government now intrusively forces and bashes the citizens into compliance. It is a sad time in american history that we no longer run of logic and reason but emotion and moral subjection in order to make a few loud over zealous groups on both sides of the fence happy and appeased. The only way in my opinion to shrink and correct this is to end the federal out reach and once again allow states to regain sovereignty and reign over their constituents in the fashion in which the populace votes and elects in. The federal government only concern with states should be to make sure each state provides the constitutional rights and no longer enforces a federal moral code. This will allow people to trust more in the government as well as allow people to go back to voting with their feet. Other wise we will no longer be land of the free as far as land of the brave i believe that died out a long time ago. Scraut678
ReplyDeleteFor me to here this is old news, ive been hearing about how we imprison and incarcerate more people than any other country even when they compare us to larger countries like China and Russia. I don't think reforming the way we do things is so much necessary as becoming more lenient on misdemeanor crimes we arrest people and imprison people for such petty things witch only in term cost us more money on a criminal who got a dui to many times. I think we should reform on how we rehabilitate prisoners or people who commit crimes, try to make the individual better not throw him in a cell. wreked678
ReplyDeleteI kind of disagree with the whole DUI thing. If someone continually is getting nailed for a DUI then yeah they need to be in jail. That is not necessarily a drinking issue. Plenty of alcoholics don't drink and drive. It could go both ways, maybe they do have a drinking problem or they are just being ignorant of the law and refuse to abide by the laws. Rehabiliation can only go so far. The issue that comes along with rehabiliation is that you can't fix someone who doesn't want to be fixed. I'm all for helping people and believe that is the answer to some cases, not all. Bama678
DeleteDefinitely agree on the rehabilitation of criminals! I feel like our tax dollars should go to helping them get on the right path instead of being thrown in prisons to wither their life away. I agree that repeat offenders do need to be sentenced harsher. One question do you believe even though they are repeat offenders do they need like steps till them are imprisoned? Say like rehab then probation, and then prison? I hope you understand my question.
DeleteSpartan678
Like the guy in the video said, it is crazy to think that the nation who broadcasts "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" locks up the highest amount of people. It is incredibly wild to think that we house the most out of 9.8 million locked up. Whether all of them are guilty of severe crimes or not (deserving of having their rights taken away), that's still way too many people living without the freedoms that they were once promised.
ReplyDelete1.6 million post trial inmates in our nation alone. I guess that makes sense because of all the 4,500 federal crimes that could be potentially violated. In theory it's almost difficult to live as an American due to the fear that you could be one of the "743 people for every 100k" that get sent to prison.
I understand that if people are committing crimes, they deserve to be punished, but what if they are feeling pressured to? What if it's things like the economy, or certain regulations on procedures that makes a person try their chances at committing a crime, hoping to not get caught?
-JrMac678
The video failed to mention at all what the people in our prisons are being incarcerated for. Throwing numbers around can make anything look good or bad. What really matters in why the people are being incarcerated. We have strict laws in the United States, especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs. Research shows that a large portion of prison inmates are in there on drug charges. Our drug laws are gradually starting to decrease as time goes on but they are still pretty strict on things such as marijuana. Some countries have a lower drinking age than 21 and because of that there are not so many people in their prison systems. Our justice system has its baggage and is not always as fair as the public would like. If people don't want to be incarcerated then don't break the law. The laws were put in place for a reason. The biggest issue today is the drug laws and they are beginning to be more lenient with those. I think our incarceration rates will gradually begin to decline with due time. Bama678
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Most of our youth is being incarcerated for drugs and under age drinking which can lead to criminal active. I don't agree with lowering the age limit on drinking. Drinking is for adults. When your 21 I don't think your frontal lobe has developed enough to make decisions sober let alone intoxicated. The crime rate will go through the roof with that new law. Motherof4678
DeleteI agree with you about how we have really strong drug laws in america, not that we don't need them just I feel that they should be different levels of punishment for those that get caught with drugs. I also agree with you about that if you don't want to end up in prison don't be dumb. The laws where put in place for a reason. Gt_racer678
DeleteOne of my favorite quotes by far made by an inmate was "I am doing life in prison for pot." This shows that the CJ system is extremely messed up. Murderers can do 10 years in prison but someone has a life sentence for pot? The legalization of marijuana in Colorado has shown to decrease the number of "drug crimes" and has greatly improved the tax revenue for the state!
DeleteMedic678
I new that the United States was one of the top countries for having people incarcerated, but didn't realize that we where number one and by so much more then most countries. I though that it is crazy that America is responsible for 4.5% of the worlds population, which is a small portion. But we are also responsible for 23% of the worlds prison population. Looking at those numbers it is scary to think that on the news you hear about all the bad things that happen all over the world and the things people do in other countries. But we have the highest amount of people in prison in the world at 1.6 million people in prison. I think that this is so high because of all the small time criminals are put away. For example people that are found with a controlled substance or people that get caught pirating things. Yes, these are things that we shouldn't take lightly, but why not have were we have more people on house arrest that can be monitored, but don't have to loose everything because of dumb decisions.
ReplyDeleteGt_racer678
I completely agree with you on the fact that a lot of people are put away for small time crimes and that the system could go another way about penalizing those that aren’t really a threat to society. You pretty much said it best when you said that no one should have to lose everything because of one wrong decision. –GFM678
DeleteIt’s a little crazy to think that the United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. The number that really stuck out to me was that, 743 out of every 100,000 Americans are in prison. The way I see it, is that either you or someone in your family is almost guaranteed to serve time in prison. I feel if the system put more work into giving hope to those that are constantly in and out of prison, that the number would decrease tremendously. I understand this was in 2010 and that the numbers have dropped since then, but even as today the system still holds a significant amount of prisoners. They have room for a change to help better these people lives to keep them out of the system, and drop their numbers even more. By doing so they could also save a lot of money instead of spending 40 billion dollars on people that could be given treatment and help so that they can have a chance to succeed outside of the bars in this “free” world. -GFM678
ReplyDeleteI know that U.S. had so many people in lock up it’s not anything knew there is evil in the world. Now don't get me wrong there are a lot of people incarcerated that shouldn't be. Yes, there are the marijuana users that are in for very minor charges at least to my opinion. But I also want to talk about states that don't have stand your ground laws or self-defense laws. Yes there are very few times that a person protecting themselves gets charged with murder but there are a few people in the states like Arizona and California that get locked up for protecting themselves. I do believe that there are a lot of people that deserve to be in jail and sentenced to what they deserve. I think that it is awful that there are so many people incarcerated but at the same time laws are laws and if you break them you need to be punished accordingly. But where do we go from here? Legalize certain drugs? Legalize drug trafficking and start taxing it? Another thing is how many offenses have these individuals committed? That will open so many more doors to legalizing other more serious things. My question is how far do we go till we completely do away with right and wrong and live with extreme amounts of liberty? So, I do agree that it is a terrible thing so many are in lock but I just don't exactly know how we fix it. My best idea would be government programs on a tight watch along the lines of a half-way house and mentor these individuals deemed by society of "lesser crimes" to help create better individuals like some programs do instead of just throwing them in lock up. I think very large fines should be put in place instead of lock up and being paid to live (hope this doesn't sound too harsh) but tax payers shouldn't has to pay for someone who have committed crimes. I think a lot of people take crimes lightly because of the fact that life is sometimes easier depending on the situations.
ReplyDeleteSpartan678
I think we just lock up our people when in reality we should maybe try another approach. There is something obviously not working considering most people in prison are have prior conviction. It starts at home..it starts in school..we have to raise our children to want to work for the jails and prisons instead of putting them in front of video games and having the wrong people around them....No one wakes up and say I'm going to go commit a crime today. They are learning this from somewhere. Maybe we should ask the others countries what they are doing to cut back on crime.. There are lots of big brother and big sister programs out here. Make them go do something positive in the world. You can't make a difference in the world if you not out in it MotherOf4678
ReplyDeleteGrowing up as a correctional officer's son I have had some knowledge of the prison system and its over population problems. I think one of the problems is that our prison system compared to that of China or Russia is people in those countries have a great fear of getting locked up in their prison. Unlike in the US where the prisoners know that they will get three hot meals and a bed each night if they are well behaved. Tex678
ReplyDeleteI think it's funny how we don't know what to do with the prisoners so we think over flowing the jails will make things better. It's weird how the video never said any thing about why so many are their. To tell you the truth the USA are bullies . We are also lazy we just lock people up and throw away the key. We have so many people locked up and for what reason ? Most of the people in jail are in their for small crimes .
ReplyDeleteWhy678
I agree with the guy from the video it's too many people locked up for petty things. Jail to me was never created for all these small crimes such as getting caught with weed like that's just something that they could have through out from the get go. Then I never knew do many people was in jail it's just crazy all these people is locked up for petty reasons. But the that say the land of the free the home of the brave I mean you do have to be brave going into that place. This just crazy they need a better way of dealing with people with these petty cases. Start something other then putting them in jail over simple things jail was created for people dealing with murder cases and other serious cases. I just never thought we had so many people locked up behind bars like animals Lashay678
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