Misdemeanor System Research Paper

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The Main Issues with the Misdemeanor System There are lots of issues with the misdemeanor system making America become more and more unequal and trapping some of the innocent. A misdemeanor is a minor wrongdoing that is less serious than a felony. It typically has the effect of having a punishment under a year, but has changed many people's lives for the worse. Some who are wrongfully convicted of a misdemeanor may just plead guilty to moving on with their lives, but the burden of being convicted carries on with all who are. America has a stable legal system that provides citizens with general safety, punishes those who have done wrong, discourages bad behavior, and maintains order to an extent. However, there are many issues that have to be fixed …show more content…
So many people have been affected by the outcome of having a criminal record. More than 70 million people in the United States — or more than one in five people — have a criminal record. That figure includes about 45 million Americans, or about 14 percent of the population, with misdemeanor convictions. And while misdemeanors often involve lower-level crimes, they can nonetheless lead to severe, long-term financial losses. People with a misdemeanor conviction experience reduced annual earnings by an average of 16 percent — losses that total nearly $100,000 over the course of a lifetime (The Misdemeanor System Reinforces Economic Inequality). This just goes to show how the long-term financial losses so many people are experiencing are really harming their personal economics and harming the nation's economy as a whole, since so many people are struggling. There are also lots of social problems that create crime—such as poverty and joblessness—and transform the workings of the global economy. This leads to more criminals laundering money, polluting the environment, and exposing their employees to dangerous working conditions. Political Economy of Crime In
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