Its so funny to read political stories because the entire time I keep saying to myself that they are just lying through their teeth. It doesn't matter who you side with or what your ideals are; We all know that political figures will say anything to be able to get that seat in a higher place of power and nine times out of ten, nothing will be done that they said they are going to do. With that being said, I enjoyed reading this article because the author kept it real and said it how it is. They pretty much said that the political leaders are saying these things, and they all have good ideas about what they want to do which is lower the United States prison populations, but none of them truly understand why the imprisonment rate is so high. It stated the main topic of why the imprisonment rate is so high in the United States is because of varying Marijuana usage and possession laws which isn't necessarily wrong; its just missing a lot of other big points such as mass gun violence in the inner cities and increasing crime rates among females and even juvenile offenders. FIRE002
I still think it’s funny that these candidates keep try to tackle issues like this, yet not knowing where to look or how to begin. I agree that we need to reform and slow down our incarceration rate, but the real issue is what to do with violent offenders. The majority of people behind our prison walls were convicted of violent crimes. According to the HuffPost, interviews with experts pointed out that we can’t properly eliminate mass incarceration without dealing with the violent offenders. The rate of incarceration in the US have quadrupled in the past four years for many reasons. This could be tied to policies like three strike laws and truth in sentencing laws. Another weird thing is that many Americans still believe that many of the offenders in prison are there for drug crimes, when the reality is the majority of offenders behind bars are there for violent crimes. In terms of criminal justice reform, this is something we should really be careful about. While the new candidates are looking towards legalizing marijuana and stripping away the death penalty, they really should be focused on the real issue of our incarceration issues, figuring out what to do with violent crimes. -OUTATIME002
A lot of the time it seems like politicians start talking on a serious issue, and not know all the details to it. Most of the time what they say seems to good to be true, and really just saying what the public wants to hear. Yes I agree with the politicians that the incineration rate is way to high and we need to lower it, but the main problem is the amount of people locked up for serious crimes. According to the article over half of people incaserated are in there for serious violent crimes, whether it be murder or robery. Only about 15% of people locked up in state prisons are there for drug related crimes. A lot of times this is where the three strike law comes into play. The three strike law says that if you get three felonies you will be locked up for life, and a minimum sentencing of 25 years. I think one reason for overpopulated prisons has to do with the three strike law. Many people don’t realize that a majority of people aren’t in prison for drugs, and that there's a lot more serious violent crime offenses. I think right now as a whole we should be more focused on the serious violent crime offenders than any other offenses. -CRJB002
The democractic front-runners all agree that the U.S. imprisons too many people and I agree. I think it is a good idea that the United States is trying to cut down the incarceration rate since it has more than quadruped in the past four decades. Kamala Harrie, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have released comprehensive plans to tackle the root causes of crime, like poverty and homlessness, and calls to eliminate the mandatory sentencing laws ushered in by the war on drugs, according to this article. This plan excludes the primary cause of the high prison rates: violent crimes. This article states that majority of people in state prisons are there on convictions for violent crimes, ranging from robbery to murder. The “three strikes” law and the “truth in sentencing” laws have also resulted in more people spending more time behind bars. I think this information is true because the “three strike” laws could be putting someone in prison for life for stealing pizza, like the example in class. “truth in sentencing” laws forces people to serve most of their sentences before qualifying for parole, which I think it needs to be decided on per the offense on why they are in prison. JU002
The candidates that we hear about and see on TV talk about fixing and lowering incarceration rates. But they don’t even know the first thing nor have they ever been around people who have been to jail or prison. Then on top of that the candidates talk about what the people want to hear because that’s what real people go through on a day to day basis. Like going to jail or to prison for smoking weed. There answer for it is to legalize weed so no one else gets locked up for it. Ninety percent of the time they just say things so they can get the votes. Like it says in the article “Frankly, those who think we can eliminate mass incarceration without dealing with violent crimes are committing a math error,” said Keith Wattley.” Dealing with mass incarceration isn't so simple as people think it is. Especially dealing with all the school shootings and neighborhood shootings that's going on all over America. “But to truly reduce the prison population, the U.S. needs to shorten sentences, including for violent crimes, Mauer said. That will require comprehensive sentencing reform.” I think that looking at the severity of the case and why they committed the crime. Batman002
This article was quite interesting to me because it brought up a lot of things of what politicians are saying or trying to do to keep the imprisonment rates down. A majority of politicians just say these things to get elected, its been like that for years and I dont think it will ever change. A lot of politicians say these things however do they really know what the real cause is of the prison population being so high, no because no one seems to have a definite answer on what is exactly causing it to rise so high. I feel as though a lot of people think we have prison over crowding due to drugs but really its a lot of violent offenders like murder and rape. Which those could be hard to reduce those numbers, to be honest I feel that whatever might happen to keep those numbers low someone wont like it. For example, I do believe in the aging out how ever there have been times where a violent offender gets out then killed someone again. People that have heard that story got mad at the system for letting him out however if we keep them in we still have issues. I think we really need to dive deep and think about the best possible solution is for the over crowding problem. For crimes like drugs I do believe that there needs to be less harsher sentences depending on the circumstance because we truly need the most room for those violent offenders. Also the article talked about the three strike laws and that is also a factor of over population in jails, that seems like a quicker fix. -wags002
The majority of prisoners in the United States are locked up due to committing violent crimes, such as murder or armed robbery. In order to eliminate mass incarceration first we must find a new solution to dealing with those prisoners who committed violent crimes. In the last four decades the United States has more than quadrupled the rate of incarceration is growing. Reasoning for the heightened rate of incarceration is we have been harder on mandatory sentences, people have longer sentences, and a harsher enforcement of the drug laws. “Three strikes” laws are when someone commits their third felony, they are sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison. There are also “truth in sentencing” laws, these laws require inmates to serve most of their time. It is shocking that drug crimes do not accumulate for a large portion of prisons. The majority of people locked up in state prisons are there for violent crimes, and a very small amount is actually being held for drug crimes in comparison. Many people are actually in agreement for nonviolent offenders to get reduced prison time. Our society has hope in second chances for these criminals, and of course wanting to pay less in taxes. -KF002
Violent crime and nonviolent crime will always be definitive when it comes into the operation of punishment in a court of law. What happens’ when a serious offender pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of something just to get a a serious charged reascended? That way they spend less time in prison therefore reducing the costs on the tax payer because they would be spending less time in prison. I think we need to go back to state and federal laws especially when it comes to the three strike rule. Sometimes its not fair it certain circumstances but each case is different by basis. I am not shocked that the democratic delegates running for president want to even go more into depth on these topics of criminal reform then just talking about drug related crimes. We incarcerate more people for drug offenses then any other country. Once we have established a correct system of reform maybe we can see that reintegration of a prisoner in society will be beneficial for the offender. But the main idea is to lower the prison population and at the same time reduce crime rate and still have a productive society. But in reality that probably will never happen. Navy002
Honestly, I don't care for politics that much, but I am glad to see that the candidates see an issue and want to do something about it. From what the article explained, it sounds like these politicians need to be doing more research on the topic of prisons in general. It does not sound like they know entirely what they are talking about, but if they can do the reading and gain the information to succeed at lowering the prison population in a good way that is fantastic. Our prisons have a big issue with overcrowding and we definitely need reform. We need to figure out how to address the problems of violent crimes, because those crimes make up most of what people are in prison for. The politicians in the article do not seem fully ready to address that issue, most likely because it sounds bad to let violent criminal back into society quicker, but if they want to see a change in our prison population they will have to get around to talking about violent crimes sooner or later. I believe the politicians are in the right frame of mind, but need to do the research. There will always be issues, but that does not mean we shouldn't try our best to make improvements. -arm002
It's a great thing that these candiates see a issue with mass incarceration. This leads me to believe that maybe something will change this???. It seems that people are getting more time due to the three strike law, and drug charges then they should be getting. For example the man who got 36 years for $50 is what the concern is about. It seems like there are many questions about how crimes can be handle other than throwing someone in prison for life. Cadidates like Cory Booker is trying is hand at prison reduction by wanting the judge to reduce a 10years prison sentence or early release. It seems like the war on drugs so to speak is the main reason for these massive sentences. Instead it seems like these candidates are debating on violent and nonviolent crimes and what they would do when they get into office. Hopefully they know what they want to do and make it happen instead of sending a message like only certain crimes are ok. The mass incarceration problem is always the topic of conversation, being that it is these politicans really need to step up to improve the issue.-zw002
I love to see that these people see the issue with our incarceration rates but we all stand with the same question. What can we do slow these rates down or what is causing these rates to be so significantly high. I believe no one has the answers to these questions or maybe just not yet. Sure maybe dealing with the violent offenders may help, or adjusting our policies may show some positive results. Or maybe we should adjust our three strike and drug laws. So many options to try but it seems like we don't know where to start and neither do I. Unlike me though these politicians seem very confident in their approach on this issue, so maybe they truly believe they can help improve and solve this issue. Whichever one gets into office I hope and have confidence they can really do what they plan to do. -WiseGuy002
Mass incarceration is definitely a very big issue within the United States. The 2020 democratic candidates have all touched on this subject with Kamala Harris, Bernie Sander and Elizabeth Warren making comprehensive plans on the matter. One thing all of the candidates agree on is that mass incarceration is an issue that needs to be addressed. Many people attribute mass incarceration to the war on drugs. These numbers will change with the legalization of marijuana in many states. There are others that think that it’s the length of sentences that cause the elevated amount of people incarcerated. As long as violent crime is on the rise, the rate of incarceration will not go down unless some changes are implemented. In some cases, the amount of time a person spends in prison does not seem to suit the crime. The article mentions a man sentenced to 36 years for robbing a bakery of $50. Yes he committed a crime, but does that warrant 3 decades in prison? The costs of prisons and how much we spend annually are skyrocketing. This could be drastically reduced if we worked on ways to rehabilitate inmates rather than having them spending years in prisons for smaller crimes. It seems to me that sentencing reform is the best way to tackle the mass incarceration issue. –Zen002
As I read the article, I thought it was interesting. According to Melissa Jeltsen, “The rate of incarceration in the United States has more than quadrupled in the past four decades, and scholars are still debating why.” The 2020 democratic candidates have all touched on this subject with Kamala Harris, Bernie Sander and Elizabeth Warren making comprehensive plans on the matter. One thing all of the candidates agree on is that mass incarceration is an issue that needs to be addressed. Many people debated on a mass incarceration to the war on drugs. There are numerous changes with legalization of marijuana in many states. As long as violent crime is on the rise, the rate of incarceration will not go down unless some changes are implemented. They really need to do something about this because it is really bad. The man who got 36 years for $50 is what the concern is about. This is why we have problems in the criminal justice system. Softball002
I felt this article brought up a lot of interesting points that I did not know. Like many within public perception I thought half of all prisoners were in prison because of some drug related crime, trafficking and such. I did not know violent offenders made up half of the national prison population and are the primary cause of Americas high prison population. I agree that it would be counter productive for politicians to spend time explaining the differences between violent and nonviolent crimes to the masses. I really like the legislation introduced by Cory Booker allowing federal prisoners who have served ten years to petition to judges for reduced sentencing and early release. I also like the idea of putting a twenty year cap on a majority of punishments especially when statistical studies support the theory of most people aging out of crime. I didn't like the suggestion about doing away with mandatory minimum laws. I felt it was too vague and alluded to an idea that judges could decide the fates of people based entirely on personal discretion. To me this gives too much power to the individual judges deciding the case and could become corrupted by personal biases. It doesn't give credence to the idea of equality when convicted of a crime. -Camslifton002
Only 15% of people in state prisons are held for drug crimes. I think that the reason behind mass incarceration is very simple. In Chicago there is an overcrowded jail which houses about 6500 inmates. Most of the people in Cook County jail are locked up because of marijuana. There are numerous changes with legalization of marijuana in many states. As long as violent crime is on the rise, the rate of incarceration will not go down unless some changes are implemented. They really need to do something about this because it is really bad. This article brought up a lot of interesting points that I did not know. Like many within public perception I thought half of all prisoners were in prison because of some drug related crime, trafficking and such. I did not know violent offenders made up half of the national prison population and are the primary cause of Americas high prison population. SH002
The story of the 22-year-old man who robbed a bakery for $50 and was sentenced with 36 years in prison because it was considered a violent crime baffled me. This seems excessive and extremely harsh for the crime committed when no one was hurt, and he did not massively rob the store. This ends up costing us more money to hold him and ruins the rest of his life for such a small crime. Our criminal justice system needs to prioritize which crimes deserve long sentences and which are not worth the time and money to lock someone away. We need to step away from mass incarceration due to drug related crimes as well and focus on rehabilitation rather than locking up every person with enough drugs for personal use. Though I tend to stray from political discussion in front of a bigger audience, I support the Democrats for trying to solve the mass incarceration problem; however, they really should focus on the violent crimes aspect of the situation because those crimes take the cake when it comes to the majority of inmates not drugs. I can only hope to see some change in the future or we will not have any room left for the very serious criminal offenders. -Gamma002
Mass incarceration is a serious problem in the United States. The U.S imprisons at 2.2 million inmates. In the past four years the numbers have risen dramatically. According to the article “The 2020 Canidates Still Won't Talk About The Main Cause of Mass Incarceration”, the reason why there are so many people behind bars is because it is drug related and violent crimes, “But while the war on drugs undeniably contributed to mass incarceration, the majority of people in state prisons, which account for 88% of the total U.S. prison population, are there on convictions for violent crimes. Only 15% of people in state prisons are held for drug crimes. I think that the reason behind mass incarceration is very simple. In Chicago there is an overcrowded jail which houses about 6500 inmates. Most of the people in Cook County jail are locked up because of marijuanna. You can be sent to jail for as little as one blunt. I think police should focus more on locking up murderers and rapists, rather than a man on his way home from work smoking a joint. In order for the U.S to decrease the mass incarceration they should shorten inmates sentences. -Jas002
The rate of incarceration in the US have quadrupled in the past four years for many reasons. This could be tied to policies like three strike laws and truth in sentencing laws. Another odd thing is that many Americans still believe that many of the offenders in prison are there for drug crimes, when the reality is the majority of offenders behind bars are there for violent crimes. The democratic front-runners all agree that the U.S. imprisons too many people and I agree. I think it is a good idea that the United States is trying to cut down the incarceration rate since it has more than quadrupled in the past four decades. Kamala Harrie, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have released comprehensive plans to tackle the root causes of crime, like poverty and homelessness, and calls to eliminate the mandatory sentencing laws ushered in by the war on drugs, according to this article. “But to truly reduce the prison population, the U.S. needs to shorten sentences, including for violent crimes, Mauer said. That will require comprehensive sentencing reform.” I feel as though a lot of people think we have prison overcrowding due to drugs but really, it’s a lot of violent offenders like murder and rape. Which those could be hard to reduce those numbers, to be honest I feel that whatever might happen to keep those numbers low someone won’t like it. SH002
Its so funny to read political stories because the entire time I keep saying to myself that they are just lying through their teeth. It doesn't matter who you side with or what your ideals are; We all know that political figures will say anything to be able to get that seat in a higher place of power and nine times out of ten, nothing will be done that they said they are going to do. With that being said, I enjoyed reading this article because the author kept it real and said it how it is. They pretty much said that the political leaders are saying these things, and they all have good ideas about what they want to do which is lower the United States prison populations, but none of them truly understand why the imprisonment rate is so high. It stated the main topic of why the imprisonment rate is so high in the United States is because of varying Marijuana usage and possession laws which isn't necessarily wrong; its just missing a lot of other big points such as mass gun violence in the inner cities and increasing crime rates among females and even juvenile offenders. FIRE002
ReplyDeleteI still think it’s funny that these candidates keep try to tackle issues like this, yet not knowing where to look or how to begin. I agree that we need to reform and slow down our incarceration rate, but the real issue is what to do with violent offenders. The majority of people behind our prison walls were convicted of violent crimes. According to the HuffPost, interviews with experts pointed out that we can’t properly eliminate mass incarceration without dealing with the violent offenders. The rate of incarceration in the US have quadrupled in the past four years for many reasons. This could be tied to policies like three strike laws and truth in sentencing laws. Another weird thing is that many Americans still believe that many of the offenders in prison are there for drug crimes, when the reality is the majority of offenders behind bars are there for violent crimes. In terms of criminal justice reform, this is something we should really be careful about. While the new candidates are looking towards legalizing marijuana and stripping away the death penalty, they really should be focused on the real issue of our incarceration issues, figuring out what to do with violent crimes. -OUTATIME002
ReplyDeleteA lot of the time it seems like politicians start talking on a serious issue, and not know all the details to it. Most of the time what they say seems to good to be true, and really just saying what the public wants to hear. Yes I agree with the politicians that the incineration rate is way to high and we need to lower it, but the main problem is the amount of people locked up for serious crimes. According to the article over half of people incaserated are in there for serious violent crimes, whether it be murder or robery. Only about 15% of people locked up in state prisons are there for drug related crimes. A lot of times this is where the three strike law comes into play. The three strike law says that if you get three felonies you will be locked up for life, and a minimum sentencing of 25 years. I think one reason for overpopulated prisons has to do with the three strike law. Many people don’t realize that a majority of people aren’t in prison for drugs, and that there's a lot more serious violent crime offenses. I think right now as a whole we should be more focused on the serious violent crime offenders than any other offenses. -CRJB002
ReplyDeleteThe democractic front-runners all agree that the U.S. imprisons too many people and I agree. I think it is a good idea that the United States is trying to cut down the incarceration rate since it has more than quadruped in the past four decades. Kamala Harrie, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have released comprehensive plans to tackle the root causes of crime, like poverty and homlessness, and calls to eliminate the mandatory sentencing laws ushered in by the war on drugs, according to this article. This plan excludes the primary cause of the high prison rates: violent crimes. This article states that majority of people in state prisons are there on convictions for violent crimes, ranging from robbery to murder. The “three strikes” law and the “truth in sentencing” laws have also resulted in more people spending more time behind bars. I think this information is true because the “three strike” laws could be putting someone in prison for life for stealing pizza, like the example in class. “truth in sentencing” laws forces people to serve most of their sentences before qualifying for parole, which I think it needs to be decided on per the offense on why they are in prison. JU002
ReplyDeleteThe candidates that we hear about and see on TV talk about fixing and lowering incarceration rates. But they don’t even know the first thing nor have they ever been around people who have been to jail or prison. Then on top of that the candidates talk about what the people want to hear because that’s what real people go through on a day to day basis. Like going to jail or to prison for smoking weed. There answer for it is to legalize weed so no one else gets locked up for it. Ninety percent of the time they just say things so they can get the votes. Like it says in the article “Frankly, those who think we can eliminate mass incarceration without dealing with violent crimes are committing a math error,” said Keith Wattley.” Dealing with mass incarceration isn't so simple as people think it is. Especially dealing with all the school shootings and neighborhood shootings that's going on all over America. “But to truly reduce the prison population, the U.S. needs to shorten sentences, including for violent crimes, Mauer said. That will require comprehensive sentencing reform.” I think that looking at the severity of the case and why they committed the crime. Batman002
ReplyDeleteThis article was quite interesting to me because it brought up a lot of things of what politicians are saying or trying to do to keep the imprisonment rates down. A majority of politicians just say these things to get elected, its been like that for years and I dont think it will ever change. A lot of politicians say these things however do they really know what the real cause is of the prison population being so high, no because no one seems to have a definite answer on what is exactly causing it to rise so high. I feel as though a lot of people think we have prison over crowding due to drugs but really its a lot of violent offenders like murder and rape. Which those could be hard to reduce those numbers, to be honest I feel that whatever might happen to keep those numbers low someone wont like it. For example, I do believe in the aging out how ever there have been times where a violent offender gets out then killed someone again. People that have heard that story got mad at the system for letting him out however if we keep them in we still have issues. I think we really need to dive deep and think about the best possible solution is for the over crowding problem. For crimes like drugs I do believe that there needs to be less harsher sentences depending on the circumstance because we truly need the most room for those violent offenders. Also the article talked about the three strike laws and that is also a factor of over population in jails, that seems like a quicker fix. -wags002
ReplyDeleteThe majority of prisoners in the United States are locked up due to committing violent crimes, such as murder or armed robbery. In order to eliminate mass incarceration first we must find a new solution to dealing with those prisoners who committed violent crimes. In the last four decades the United States has more than quadrupled the rate of incarceration is growing. Reasoning for the heightened rate of incarceration is we have been harder on mandatory sentences, people have longer sentences, and a harsher enforcement of the drug laws. “Three strikes” laws are when someone commits their third felony, they are sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison. There are also “truth in sentencing” laws, these laws require inmates to serve most of their time. It is shocking that drug crimes do not accumulate for a large portion of prisons. The majority of people locked up in state prisons are there for violent crimes, and a very small amount is actually being held for drug crimes in comparison. Many people are actually in agreement for nonviolent offenders to get reduced prison time. Our society has hope in second chances for these criminals, and of course wanting to pay less in taxes.
ReplyDelete-KF002
Violent crime and nonviolent crime will always be definitive when it comes into the operation of punishment in a court of law. What happens’ when a serious offender pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of something just to get a a serious charged reascended? That way they spend less time in prison therefore reducing the costs on the tax payer because they would be spending less time in prison. I think we need to go back to state and federal laws especially when it comes to the three strike rule. Sometimes its not fair it certain circumstances but each case is different by basis. I am not shocked that the democratic delegates running for president want to even go more into depth on these topics of criminal reform then just talking about drug related crimes. We incarcerate more people for drug offenses then any other country. Once we have established a correct system of reform maybe we can see that reintegration of a prisoner in society will be beneficial for the offender. But the main idea is to lower the prison population and at the same time reduce crime rate and still have a productive society. But in reality that probably will never happen. Navy002
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't care for politics that much, but I am glad to see that the candidates see an issue and want to do something about it. From what the article explained, it sounds like these politicians need to be doing more research on the topic of prisons in general. It does not sound like they know entirely what they are talking about, but if they can do the reading and gain the information to succeed at lowering the prison population in a good way that is fantastic. Our prisons have a big issue with overcrowding and we definitely need reform. We need to figure out how to address the problems of violent crimes, because those crimes make up most of what people are in prison for. The politicians in the article do not seem fully ready to address that issue, most likely because it sounds bad to let violent criminal back into society quicker, but if they want to see a change in our prison population they will have to get around to talking about violent crimes sooner or later. I believe the politicians are in the right frame of mind, but need to do the research. There will always be issues, but that does not mean we shouldn't try our best to make improvements. -arm002
ReplyDeleteIt's a great thing that these candiates see a issue with mass incarceration. This leads me to believe that maybe something will change this???. It seems that people are getting more time due to the three strike law, and drug charges then they should be getting. For example the man who got 36 years for $50 is what the concern is about. It seems like there are many questions about how crimes can be handle other than throwing someone in prison for life. Cadidates like Cory Booker is trying is hand at prison reduction by wanting the judge to reduce a 10years prison sentence or early release. It seems like the war on drugs so to speak is the main reason for these massive sentences. Instead it seems like these candidates are debating on violent and nonviolent crimes and what they would do when they get into office. Hopefully they know what they want to do and make it happen instead of sending a message like only certain crimes are ok. The mass incarceration problem is always the topic of conversation, being that it is these politicans really need to step up to improve the issue.-zw002
ReplyDeleteI love to see that these people see the issue with our incarceration rates but we all stand with the same question. What can we do slow these rates down or what is causing these rates to be so significantly high. I believe no one has the answers to these questions or maybe just not yet. Sure maybe dealing with the violent offenders may help, or adjusting our policies may show some positive results. Or maybe we should adjust our three strike and drug laws. So many options to try but it seems like we don't know where to start and neither do I. Unlike me though these politicians seem very confident in their approach on this issue, so maybe they truly believe they can help improve and solve this issue. Whichever one gets into office I hope and have confidence they can really do what they plan to do. -WiseGuy002
ReplyDeleteMass incarceration is definitely a very big issue within the United States. The 2020 democratic candidates have all touched on this subject with Kamala Harris, Bernie Sander and Elizabeth Warren making comprehensive plans on the matter. One thing all of the candidates agree on is that mass incarceration is an issue that needs to be addressed. Many people attribute mass incarceration to the war on drugs. These numbers will change with the legalization of marijuana in many states. There are others that think that it’s the length of sentences that cause the elevated amount of people incarcerated. As long as violent crime is on the rise, the rate of incarceration will not go down unless some changes are implemented. In some cases, the amount of time a person spends in prison does not seem to suit the crime. The article mentions a man sentenced to 36 years for robbing a bakery of $50. Yes he committed a crime, but does that warrant 3 decades in prison? The costs of prisons and how much we spend annually are skyrocketing. This could be drastically reduced if we worked on ways to rehabilitate inmates rather than having them spending years in prisons for smaller crimes. It seems to me that sentencing reform is the best way to tackle the mass incarceration issue. –Zen002
ReplyDeleteAs I read the article, I thought it was interesting. According to Melissa Jeltsen, “The rate of incarceration in the United States has more than quadrupled in the past four decades, and scholars are still debating why.” The 2020 democratic candidates have all touched on this subject with Kamala Harris, Bernie Sander and Elizabeth Warren making comprehensive plans on the matter. One thing all of the candidates agree on is that mass incarceration is an issue that needs to be addressed. Many people debated on a mass incarceration to the war on drugs. There are numerous changes with legalization of marijuana in many states. As long as violent crime is on the rise, the rate of incarceration will not go down unless some changes are implemented. They really need to do something about this because it is really bad. The man who got 36 years for $50 is what the concern is about. This is why we have problems in the criminal justice system. Softball002
ReplyDeleteI felt this article brought up a lot of interesting points that I did not know. Like many within public perception I thought half of all prisoners were in prison because of some drug related crime, trafficking and such. I did not know violent offenders made up half of the national prison population and are the primary cause of Americas high prison population. I agree that it would be counter productive for politicians to spend time explaining the differences between violent and nonviolent crimes to the masses. I really like the legislation introduced by Cory Booker allowing federal prisoners who have served ten years to petition to judges for reduced sentencing and early release. I also like the idea of putting a twenty year cap on a majority of punishments especially when statistical studies support the theory of most people aging out of crime. I didn't like the suggestion about doing away with mandatory minimum laws. I felt it was too vague and alluded to an idea that judges could decide the fates of people based entirely on personal discretion. To me this gives too much power to the individual judges deciding the case and could become corrupted by personal biases. It doesn't give credence to the idea of equality when convicted of a crime. -Camslifton002
ReplyDeleteOnly 15% of people in state prisons are held for drug crimes. I think that the reason behind mass incarceration is very simple. In Chicago there is an overcrowded jail which houses about 6500 inmates. Most of the people in Cook County jail are locked up because of marijuana. There are numerous changes with legalization of marijuana in many states. As long as violent crime is on the rise, the rate of incarceration will not go down unless some changes are implemented. They really need to do something about this because it is really bad. This article brought up a lot of interesting points that I did not know. Like many within public perception I thought half of all prisoners were in prison because of some drug related crime, trafficking and such. I did not know violent offenders made up half of the national prison population and are the primary cause of Americas high prison population. SH002
DeleteThe story of the 22-year-old man who robbed a bakery for $50 and was sentenced with 36 years in prison because it was considered a violent crime baffled me. This seems excessive and extremely harsh for the crime committed when no one was hurt, and he did not massively rob the store. This ends up costing us more money to hold him and ruins the rest of his life for such a small crime. Our criminal justice system needs to prioritize which crimes deserve long sentences and which are not worth the time and money to lock someone away. We need to step away from mass incarceration due to drug related crimes as well and focus on rehabilitation rather than locking up every person with enough drugs for personal use. Though I tend to stray from political discussion in front of a bigger audience, I support the Democrats for trying to solve the mass incarceration problem; however, they really should focus on the violent crimes aspect of the situation because those crimes take the cake when it comes to the majority of inmates not drugs. I can only hope to see some change in the future or we will not have any room left for the very serious criminal offenders. -Gamma002
ReplyDeleteMass incarceration is a serious problem in the United States. The U.S imprisons at 2.2 million inmates. In the past four years the numbers have risen dramatically. According to the article “The 2020 Canidates Still Won't Talk About The Main Cause of Mass Incarceration”, the reason why there are so many people behind bars is because it is drug related and violent crimes, “But while the war on drugs undeniably contributed to mass incarceration, the majority of people in state prisons, which account for 88% of the total U.S. prison population, are there on convictions for violent crimes. Only 15% of people in state prisons are held for drug crimes. I think that the reason behind mass incarceration is very simple. In Chicago there is an overcrowded jail which houses about 6500 inmates. Most of the people in Cook County jail are locked up because of marijuanna. You can be sent to jail for as little as one blunt. I think police should focus more on locking up murderers and rapists, rather than a man on his way home from work smoking a joint. In order for the U.S to decrease the mass incarceration they should shorten inmates sentences. -Jas002
ReplyDeleteThe rate of incarceration in the US have quadrupled in the past four years for many reasons. This could be tied to policies like three strike laws and truth in sentencing laws. Another odd thing is that many Americans still believe that many of the offenders in prison are there for drug crimes, when the reality is the majority of offenders behind bars are there for violent crimes. The democratic front-runners all agree that the U.S. imprisons too many people and I agree. I think it is a good idea that the United States is trying to cut down the incarceration rate since it has more than quadrupled in the past four decades. Kamala Harrie, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have released comprehensive plans to tackle the root causes of crime, like poverty and homelessness, and calls to eliminate the mandatory sentencing laws ushered in by the war on drugs, according to this article. “But to truly reduce the prison population, the U.S. needs to shorten sentences, including for violent crimes, Mauer said. That will require comprehensive sentencing reform.” I feel as though a lot of people think we have prison overcrowding due to drugs but really, it’s a lot of violent offenders like murder and rape. Which those could be hard to reduce those numbers, to be honest I feel that whatever might happen to keep those numbers low someone won’t like it. SH002
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