Life sentences have become much more prevalent in the recent years of the criminal justice system, in the article it states “the national lifer population of 206,000 now exceeds the size of the entire prison population in 1970,” this is insane, this proves that the United States is throwing more people behind bars with harsher sentences than they did in the past. Life in prison and life in prison without the possibility of parole are both large factors in the mass incarceration problem in the United States. When I think of a convict with a sentence of life with or without the possibility of parole, I think of offenses such as murder, but that’s not the case with all these convicts. There are many states that have come up with and passed new laws such as the “Three Strikes Law” that is basically three strikes and you are out. Meaning if anyone commits three criminal offenses in their life, after the third they are sentenced and convicted to life imprisonment. These offenses do not have to be severe, they could be two drug charges where the victim only was hurting themselves, then the third and final charge (strike) could be a small theft. Is this person really a threat to society? Is there a real reason for this person the spend the rest of their life in prison? The answer is no, that is why I believe that life imprisonment with it without parole are important to have, but only for the offenders that are truly a threat to society. -LW789
I agree with your view on three strike laws. Some offenders are stuck behind bars as young adults for victim less and petty crimes. There must be a movement to end three strike laws because the price of mass incarceration will only keep rising. -Family789
I also agree with your view of the three strike laws. I really don't think that the three strike laws should be how they are because sometimes it is for stupid crimes that shouldn't even be a thing honestly. and I like how you included the data points on the life sentences I believe it makes people really see how much of an issue this is. sunshine789
Mass incarceration is a huge problem in the United States. We as a country have known this and are taking steps to reduce the number of prisoners. However, it is sad to look at the numbers and see that twenty four states have a larger population of prisoners serving life sentences, than the amount of total people incarcerated in 1970. This shows that we have been very busy sending people to jails and spending billions in order to do so. There is a trend among certain regions as well. The regions in the south and the west, which have the lowest amount of guards, are the areas where there are two, three, and in some cases four times the amount of prisoners serving life compared with the total prison population in the seventies. In the mid 2000s, there was a fifty nine percent increase in sentences of life without parole. This is the most severe of the life sentences and incapacitates individuals from ever getting out, a sentence that can become very pricey. It is time for financial reasons, as well as fairness in sentencing, that states rethink how they will tackle the issue of mass incarceration. There has been ground made, but it does sometimes feel like a battle that will never end. -Family789
I did not even make the connection that the south and west have the most amount of lifers in prison and also have prisons that have the least amount of people working in them. The Southern and Western States seriously need to find new ways on how they are going to tackle the national issue of mass incarceration. You made an excellent point. -Jwilliejack789
As the article mentions, policymakers often don’t have a complete grasp of recidivism risk and punishment, and how it correlates. This causes policymakers to just hand out life sentences like candy, which contributes to the already large prison population. Another part of the problem here is life sentences can have the possibility of parole, but some of them don’t. Those sentences have grown dramatically, and cause a clog in the prison system. Obviously intermediate sanctions would help a lot. Low level offenders could get an intermediate sanction, keeping them out of prisons and jails, making way for mid level offenders and life-sentenced prisoners. Another way to fix this would be to reduce the number of life sentences that are handed out, and match the crime with a lesser sentence, and couple that sentence with sanctions that can be delivered outside of the prison; in addition to parole. Maybe it’s time to rethink life sentences without parole, and then act on it. In addition to getting the prisons emptied out, a lot of money could be saved and spent on prevention programs so future offenders don’t offend. In all, if done correctly, this could be a win-win situation. Mowing789
I agree with you that life sentences are used too frequently, and it is costing tax payers more and more tax dollars year after year. I believe that life sentences are necessary for certain crimes, but I also think that they are given too often. There are some violent crimes that need severe punishment, but not life, that does not give some of these people the second chance they deserve. -LW789
This is a really great idea! You basically hit it on the nose. have you ever watched the show "Pitbull and Paroles"? This is exactly what we need. What good is it that these offenders are sitting in a prison rotting away when they could be put to use and also learn different life skills and be appreciated while on parole. It makes them a better person and they learn to be intergreted back into society. So, why can't we do the same with the offenders with life without parole? They could be moved to parole on the basis of making money themselves and maybe part of their wages could be put into building new programs to help other offenders. Helping juveniles. No one knows the most on how their life has been depleted most other than those on life without parole, so why not teach the other juveniles to help them succeed in life.
As I was reading this short article, I really started to notice that life sentences have become more and more of a reality rather than a threat. Mass incarnation is huge and everyone knows this but to me it really keeps seeming to get worse. The numbers and data that is showing people who have life sentences, and the prison population is just crazy and really made me realize how much of a problem that this is. Because of the new laws that states are coming up with, is really causing this problem to grow and continue to do so. "Most people serving life, including for murder, will not forever present a risk to public safety." this sentence that I had just menched really just made me start questioning why they are stuck, why is there nothing to do to help them because you never really know what is going on in someone's life.
Even though this was a short article it was very informative. It is honestly crazy to think that the prison life sentencing is higher than the population as a whole in 1970. But, what I noticed in the diagrams is that they did not have the population numbers of 2016 in comparison to 1970. Obviously population has expanded twice to three times as more since 1970. Also I thought it was crazy to see that the highest prison life sentences were in the south and west, why though. Are their laws more strict than the middle-east or is the crime higher in general. Another fact I noticed was between 2003 and 2016 the life with parole is 18% but life without the chance of parole is 60%. I get that we do not have the death penalty, so they would be imprisoned for life. It is a general fact that the older you get the more of a chance that they will age out of the process of comitting crime. So, maybe we need to consider the fact that after a person has finished say a good portion of their sentence maybe they could be re evaluated in some way to see if they are eligible for parole, and that is on the basis of what they did in the first place, I'm not saying let out Charles Manson out on the streets. Also, depending on how old they are when the crime happened a majority of life in prison, or the value of their life left, could only be 40-45 years. As we start to change the laws regarding low offender crimes and setting up new ways to handle people waiting on trails and being convicted or even being on probation, I believe that we need ro start looking into what's going on with the prisoners on life without the chance of parole. Maybe, set up programs or have them start work release programs to that sort. I don't think that a person that is in their 60's would come out and do the same crime they did when they were first busted. With everything that is going on with mass incarceration, there definitily needs to be an evaluation on how we handle corrections and prisons. pitbull#789
This article is about the rise of the incarceration of people who have done crimes that lead them serving a life sentence. There are a number of reasons why people are getting these sentences an example of why this is happening is because of laws like minimum sentencing. Laws like these are why the total population of people serving life in prison today, is more than the entire prison population in 1970. 1 in every 7 people in prison are serving life sentences. Why this is such a high number is because the prison reforms are neglecting to pay attention to those who are serving life in prison. It is good that reforms are happening but they need to reform every aspect of the prison system not just select ones. The United States is housing 40% of the worlds inmates that are serving life sentences and 83% of inmates that are serving life sentences without parole. These numbers are staggering. The number of life imprisonments is a huge factor on why the issue of mass incarceration is even a issue. We need to pay more attention to this and reform this aspect of the prison system also. -Jwilliejack789
I agree that laws taking away the discretion of judges are screwing over people by giving them the life sentence. The system is completely neglecting to even look at people serving the life sentence and it is absolutely absurd. If we could start looking at these cases we could more adequately deal with prison reform. Slim 789
I never realized just how many people are in prison with the life sentence especially with no chance of parole. I feel like life in prison should only be used for the worst of the worst type of offenders. However, it seems that they are just handing it out especially when it comes to people who have been screwed over by systems like the three strikes law. It feels really insane how states like Nevada and Utah have about quadruple the life sentence of the the total prison population of 1970. The article refers to people’s risk to the public’s safety saying that offenders are not always going to be a risk. I agree that eventually people are going to eventually be unable to commit crimes or in a way mellow out as they get older. Slim 789
Life sentences have become much more prevalent in the recent years of the criminal justice system, in the article it states “the national lifer population of 206,000 now exceeds the size of the entire prison population in 1970,” this is insane, this proves that the United States is throwing more people behind bars with harsher sentences than they did in the past. Life in prison and life in prison without the possibility of parole are both large factors in the mass incarceration problem in the United States. When I think of a convict with a sentence of life with or without the possibility of parole, I think of offenses such as murder, but that’s not the case with all these convicts. There are many states that have come up with and passed new laws such as the “Three Strikes Law” that is basically three strikes and you are out. Meaning if anyone commits three criminal offenses in their life, after the third they are sentenced and convicted to life imprisonment. These offenses do not have to be severe, they could be two drug charges where the victim only was hurting themselves, then the third and final charge (strike) could be a small theft. Is this person really a threat to society? Is there a real reason for this person the spend the rest of their life in prison? The answer is no, that is why I believe that life imprisonment with it without parole are important to have, but only for the offenders that are truly a threat to society. -LW789
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view on three strike laws. Some offenders are stuck behind bars as young adults for victim less and petty crimes. There must be a movement to end three strike laws because the price of mass incarceration will only keep rising. -Family789
DeleteI also agree with your view of the three strike laws. I really don't think that the three strike laws should be how they are because sometimes it is for stupid crimes that shouldn't even be a thing honestly. and I like how you included the data points on the life sentences I believe it makes people really see how much of an issue this is. sunshine789
DeleteMass incarceration is a huge problem in the United States. We as a country have known this and are taking steps to reduce the number of prisoners. However, it is sad to look at the numbers and see that twenty four states have a larger population of prisoners serving life sentences, than the amount of total people incarcerated in 1970. This shows that we have been very busy sending people to jails and spending billions in order to do so. There is a trend among certain regions as well. The regions in the south and the west, which have the lowest amount of guards, are the areas where there are two, three, and in some cases four times the amount of prisoners serving life compared with the total prison population in the seventies. In the mid 2000s, there was a fifty nine percent increase in sentences of life without parole. This is the most severe of the life sentences and incapacitates individuals from ever getting out, a sentence that can become very pricey. It is time for financial reasons, as well as fairness in sentencing, that states rethink how they will tackle the issue of mass incarceration. There has been ground made, but it does sometimes feel like a battle that will never end. -Family789
ReplyDeleteI did not even make the connection that the south and west have the most amount of lifers in prison and also have prisons that have the least amount of people working in them. The Southern and Western States seriously need to find new ways on how they are going to tackle the national issue of mass incarceration. You made an excellent point. -Jwilliejack789
DeleteAs the article mentions, policymakers often don’t have a complete grasp of recidivism risk and punishment, and how it correlates. This causes policymakers to just hand out life sentences like candy, which contributes to the already large prison population. Another part of the problem here is life sentences can have the possibility of parole, but some of them don’t. Those sentences have grown dramatically, and cause a clog in the prison system. Obviously intermediate sanctions would help a lot. Low level offenders could get an intermediate sanction, keeping them out of prisons and jails, making way for mid level offenders and life-sentenced prisoners. Another way to fix this would be to reduce the number of life sentences that are handed out, and match the crime with a lesser sentence, and couple that sentence with sanctions that can be delivered outside of the prison; in addition to parole. Maybe it’s time to rethink life sentences without parole, and then act on it. In addition to getting the prisons emptied out, a lot of money could be saved and spent on prevention programs so future offenders don’t offend. In all, if done correctly, this could be a win-win situation. Mowing789
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that life sentences are used too frequently, and it is costing tax payers more and more tax dollars year after year. I believe that life sentences are necessary for certain crimes, but I also think that they are given too often. There are some violent crimes that need severe punishment, but not life, that does not give some of these people the second chance they deserve. -LW789
DeleteThis is a really great idea! You basically hit it on the nose. have you ever watched the show "Pitbull and Paroles"? This is exactly what we need. What good is it that these offenders are sitting in a prison rotting away when they could be put to use and also learn different life skills and be appreciated while on parole. It makes them a better person and they learn to be intergreted back into society. So, why can't we do the same with the offenders with life without parole? They could be moved to parole on the basis of making money themselves and maybe part of their wages could be put into building new programs to help other offenders. Helping juveniles. No one knows the most on how their life has been depleted most other than those on life without parole, so why not teach the other juveniles to help them succeed in life.
DeleteAs I was reading this short article, I really started to notice that life sentences have become more and more of a reality rather than a threat. Mass incarnation is huge and everyone knows this but to me it really keeps seeming to get worse. The numbers and data that is showing people who have life sentences, and the prison population is just crazy and really made me realize how much of a problem that this is. Because of the new laws that states are coming up with, is really causing this problem to grow and continue to do so. "Most people serving
ReplyDeletelife, including for murder, will not forever present a risk
to public safety." this sentence that I had just menched really just made me start questioning why they are stuck, why is there nothing to do to help them because you never really know what is going on in someone's life.
this comment was from Sunshine 789
DeleteEven though this was a short article it was very informative. It is honestly crazy to think that the prison life sentencing is higher than the population as a whole in 1970. But, what I noticed in the diagrams is that they did not have the population numbers of 2016 in comparison to 1970. Obviously population has expanded twice to three times as more since 1970. Also I thought it was crazy to see that the highest prison life sentences were in the south and west, why though. Are their laws more strict than the middle-east or is the crime higher in general. Another fact I noticed was between 2003 and 2016 the life with parole is 18% but life without the chance of parole is 60%. I get that we do not have the death penalty, so they would be imprisoned for life. It is a general fact that the older you get the more of a chance that they will age out of the process of comitting crime. So, maybe we need to consider the fact that after a person has finished say a good portion of their sentence maybe they could be re evaluated in some way to see if they are eligible for parole, and that is on the basis of what they did in the first place, I'm not saying let out Charles Manson out on the streets. Also, depending on how old they are when the crime happened a majority of life in prison, or the value of their life left, could only be 40-45 years. As we start to change the laws regarding low offender crimes and setting up new ways to handle people waiting on trails and being convicted or even being on probation, I believe that we need ro start looking into what's going on with the prisoners on life without the chance of parole. Maybe, set up programs or have them start work release programs to that sort. I don't think that a person that is in their 60's would come out and do the same crime they did when they were first busted. With everything that is going on with mass incarceration, there definitily needs to be an evaluation on how we handle corrections and prisons. pitbull#789
ReplyDeleteThis article is about the rise of the incarceration of people who have done crimes that lead them serving a life sentence. There are a number of reasons why people are getting these sentences an example of why this is happening is because of laws like minimum sentencing. Laws like these are why the total population of people serving life in prison today, is more than the entire prison population in 1970. 1 in every 7 people in prison are serving life sentences. Why this is such a high number is because the prison reforms are neglecting to pay attention to those who are serving life in prison. It is good that reforms are happening but they need to reform every aspect of the prison system not just select ones. The United States is housing 40% of the worlds inmates that are serving life sentences and 83% of inmates that are serving life sentences without parole. These numbers are staggering. The number of life imprisonments is a huge factor on why the issue of mass incarceration is even a issue. We need to pay more attention to this and reform this aspect of the prison system also. -Jwilliejack789
ReplyDeleteI agree that laws taking away the discretion of judges are screwing over people by giving them the life sentence. The system is completely neglecting to even look at people serving the life sentence and it is absolutely absurd. If we could start looking at these cases we could more adequately deal with prison reform. Slim 789
DeleteI never realized just how many people are in prison with the life sentence especially with no chance of parole. I feel like life in prison should only be used for the worst of the worst type of offenders. However, it seems that they are just handing it out especially when it comes to people who have been screwed over by systems like the three strikes law. It feels really insane how states like Nevada and Utah have about quadruple the life sentence of the the total prison population of 1970. The article refers to people’s risk to the public’s safety saying that offenders are not always going to be a risk. I agree that eventually people are going to eventually be unable to commit crimes or in a way mellow out as they get older. Slim 789
ReplyDelete