How Did Mass Incarceration Start

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Over the course of time, the United States has been structured by a racial caste system. Starting with slavery and ending up with mass incarceration, African Americans have been subjected to racialized social control to keep them in their place. The Jim Crow laws put in effect in the 1800s to mid-1900s, limited African Americans and kept them at the bottom of the social scale. After years of trying to undo the damages of Jim Crow, a new wave of control has emerged to keep blacks in their place. This new wave of control is mass incarceration. But what exactly is mass incarceration and how did it begin?
Mass incarceration is exactly how it sounds: a large amount of people being put into jails and prisons. The origins of mass incarceration

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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration

unrecognizable ways that fit into the fabric of the American society to render it nearly invisible to the majority of Americans. Michelle Alexander, in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness shatters this dominantly held belief. The New Jim Crow makes a reader extremely question the high rates of incarceration in the United States is an attempt to maintain blacks as an underclass. Michelle Alexander asserts that “[w]e have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned…

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African American Prison System

America is founded on the idea of a social caste system. From the start of this nation, African Americans were placed at the bottom of the social class. From hundreds of years ago, African Americans were the backbone or the labor behind the masterpiece of this nation. After Jim Crow of the 1920s, the criminal justice system took the place of this overt legal social separation. During the late 1900s until the 200s, minorities are convicted wrongfully day after day as perpetrators who do not abide…

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Alexander V. Sandoval Case: The End Of An Era

15) What happened to Adolph Lyons and how did he respond? How has the Supreme Court allowed the police to racially discriminate, and how have police in Maryland, New Jersey and New York done so? Why was the Sandoval case “the end of an era?” Adolph Lyons was a black young adult detained by the LAPD while driving his car in Los Angeles one morning. While detained Lyon failed to follow orders properly, causing the officer to chokehold Lyons who eventually collapsed. Lyons sued the City of Los Angeles…

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Cheating In A Bottom-Line Economy Summary

Attorneys and lawyers can’t help the innocent defendant as they're helping hundreds of other people at the same time. As well as in the article “Cheating in a Bottom-Line Economy” by David Callahan, explains how the system is never honest with lawyers and attorneys cheat their clients to earn more money and can get away with it as most clients are “less vigilant.” The Penal Bail system ultimately results to a wealth based discrimination or class disadvantage…

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Civil Rights Movement: The Black Panther Movement

The Black Panther Party was a very prominent Black nationalist group that arose during the end Civil Rights Movement known for their bold afros, all black outfits, and militant views. Although they have contributed to society in notable ways, such as by creating a breakfast program for people within poor communities which the government later instated in public schools, the Black Panther Movement was still pacified due to critical issues within the movement. Thus, the ways in which I could have made…

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Richard Nixon War On Drugs

After decades of bombed efforts, the War on Drugs has failed to effectively address substance abuse issues. Instead, it perpetuates cycles of violence, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities and fueling mass incarceration. This shines a light on the urgent need for alternative approaches focused on harm reduction, rehabilitation, and addressing root socioeconomic factors. As influenced by successive U.S. presidents, the War on Drugs reflects a complex relationship of policies shaped…

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Mandatory Minimums

discrimination. This article looks at cases like Rita v. United States, Gall v. United States, and United States v. Kimbrough, which they further referenced as RGK. RGK was the start of increased mandatory minimums on offenders, but they could not attribute it to the use of discretion utilized by judges. Racial disparities did however increase after the implementation of the USSG or United States Sentencing Guidelines. Booker v. United States was the court case that set all of this in motion. In 2005…

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Research Paper

beneficial outcomes for the addict population and the rest of the citizens in the United States. Also, this paper brings attention to the children who are most affected by this epidemic which is known as the war on drugs in America. The over incarceration rates in prisons is a growing concern; rehabilitation should be a considerable option to those who commit low stake crimes such as drug possession, driving under the influence, and stealing. This paper argues that rehabilitative treatment is more…

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Reducing Gun Violence In America

2012, America has been divided on what actions need to be taken to prevent another mass shooting. Anti-gun lobbyists and their followers call for firearm bans and universal background checks while pro-gun lobbyists and their followers insist any action would go against their 2nd Amendment rights and therefore be unconstitutional. Although both sides of the gun control debate recognize that there is a problem with mass shootings, neither side recognizes the other aspect of gun violence. Everyday somewhere…

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Henry David Thoreau's Case For Political Disengagement

he should have been able to do as he pleased. He wanted to influence people to do what he did, to speak up on the wrongdoing of the American government. He believed that the government should have little interference with American citizens and what they choose to do. Thoreau says, “I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’; and I should like to see it acted up…

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