Jennifer Candela -The Mass Incarceration of Minorities

 The  Mass Incarceration of Minorities

By: Jennifer Candela

Art 3170

Nov 1, 2020

 Mass incarcerations in the United States has drastically increased throughout the years. Many of the people who are behind walls are minorities  that are black or hispanic. According to the ACLU(2014) Minorities are already at a disadvantage but they are in a worse situation when it comes to facing the justice system.Its not new that it is know that minorities face racial disparities that can affect their lives. There are many individuals that are  put into trials that at then end when its time for their sentence are given a unfair longer sentences compared to white defendants. We can look at the statistics we can have a white male and a black male who are about the same age and committed the same offenses but the black male will be treated worse  and  be given the longer sentence only due to one factor his race.  The Unites States it is said to be one of the best countries to live in the world but if you were to ask me it could be for a white person but not for minorities that could be put into jail  and punish for being black. Race should never be a factor that is used to determine the kind of punishment an individual is given but it is even in searches and arrests minorities face racial bias.

Factors that can Lead Minorities to Commit Crimes

-Substance Abuse

-Bad Environments

- Poverty

-No job opportunities

- Peer pressure

-Dropping out of school 

FACTS
&

STATISTICS

• Black people are given higher bails and are more likely to be put in jail when their is a trial even if they are innocent
• Hispanics family experience incarceration higher than white people
• Minorities are brutalized in the justice system and police system 
• Private companies that are involved in private facilities benefit 
• As of 2014, African Americans constituted 2.3 million of the total 6.8 million correctional population
• The United States has spent almost $81billion on corrections
• If minorities like blacks and  Hispanics would be incarcerated at the same rate as Caucasian prison and jail populations  would decline by 40%

How  Does the  Mass Incarceration of Minorities Affect Our Communities?

Many individuals in different communities loose fate in the justice system once they see how many of their people are mistreated by officials and decide that if they ever face the justice system they will loose because of their race. I think this is a problem that many people face we have  children who grow with a parent in prison and feels that the justice systems targets them because of one factor the color of their skin. It's no surprise that many communities feel they can't be able to contact the police when they need help or are witnessing a crime that has to be reported. Due to all the injustices and discrimination that has occurred in the US people are scared they can't even contact the people. The people who swore to protect them are the ones they fear will hurt them, send them  to jail for a crime that they committed that was a minor crime, or will  unfairly accused of a crime  they didn't commit. They think that in the justice system their voices aren't  being heard and are being taken advantage of by individuals who have more power over them. 

How Does it Affect Me?

    Mass incarceration personally affects me because I come from a Hispanics family that has faced discrimination in the US. I don't think it takes a genius to see all the injustices minorities face alone in the US. But a thing that I see that impacts the lives of many blacks and Hispanic families  is the mass incarcerations of minorities. It wasn't until middle school that I began to notice the racial disparities and then high school I learned more about the prisons that run in the US. And how private prisons make money off when population increase. It made me furious that incarcerating black ad Hispanics was a way for an individual to make their bank account bigger. Being able to see the chances of a person of color has when facing the justice system is worrisome. I'm talking about the individuals who committed a low level crime and is unfairly being given a sentence that seems dramatic, not real. Looking at all theses injustices that happened everyday to minorities makes me want to share it with the rest of the world and made me want to one day become a criminal lawyer. 

What Can We All Do Help?

If it were up to me I would suggest to the people who work in the justice system and are in the opposite side to reduce the racism  and segregation that continues to affect communities of color in the US resulting in many individuals being incarcerated and are seen as a way of making money in prisons. But since we are not able to I would just say to fight for reforms that are about sentencing and bails that can help individuals when facing the law. 

Sources

ACLU. (2014, October 24). Racial Disparities in Sentencing, from https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/141027_iachr_racial_disparities_aclu_submission_0.pdf

Robert D. Crutchfield, G. (2020, May 28). The Effects of Mass Incarceration on Communities of Color. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://issues.org/the-effects-of-mass-incarceration-on-communities-of-color/

 Lakshita Handa Lakshita  (2020, August 12). Racism, Police Violence and Mass Incarceration: The legacies of slavery and segregation in the United States. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/humanrights/2020/08/12/racism-police-violence-and-mass-incarceration-the-legacies-of-slavery-and-segregation-in-the-united-states/

NAACP. (2020, July 10). Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/

King, R., Peterson, B., Elderbroom, B., & Pelletier, E. (2015, August). Reducing Mass Incarceration Requires Far Reaching Forms. Retrieved from https://apps.urban.org/features/reducing-mass-incarceration/