A Glimpse into the United States Prison System

For my civic issue, I have chosen to research and discuss the prison and judicial system mainly in the United System; however, I also want to take a glimpse at other countries’ prison systems to gain insight on what the United States can do to improve this current system. I have always had the impression that the American prison system is corrupt and seems to care about punishing prisoners instead of rehabilitating them, but I never did any research to back these ideas up. So, the other day I decided to do some research to see if these opinions of mine could be factually backed up.

Per 100,000 United States citizens of any age, approximately 716 are estimated to be imprisoned in their lifetime. As of 2018, an estimated 2.3 million Americans are confined in a prison, placing the United States at the top in most populated prisons world-wide. The United States population adds up to less than five percent of the world’s population, but about 25 percent of prisoners in the world. Additionally, about 76.6 percent of prisoners are rearrested within five years after being released. So now that you understand some of the facts, I would like to bring a few questions forward that I would like to discuss in this post: What components attribute to the United States’ high incarceration population? and What factors contribute to people recidivating after being released from prison?

After seeing the number of prisoners in the United States compared to other countries like Russia, China, and Iran, I was extremely confused. Is it that Americans are more likely to commit a crime than those in other countries? No, that can’t be it. After some research, I have formulated several reasons that can be accounted for Americans wildly-populated prisons. First, many inmates are often held in state prisons and local jails before they are even convicted.  According to CNN, in 2016 the majority of those who were being held in local jails prior to their court date ultimately did not end being convicted due to their ability to post bail; however, those who cannot afford to pay bail are forced to stay in jail until court. A major complaint about imprisoning people before they are sentenced is that it leaves those who cannot pay their bail forced in jail and unable to make a living to provide for their families.

Another component to the high rate of incarceration correlates to the harsh sentences with drug offense. Ever since the spark of the “War on Drugs” in the early 1980s, the number of people put behind bars increased by over 350%. In the 1980s, Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 where the main outcome was the creation of mandatory minimum sentences. A mandatory minimum sentence is a minimum number of years a person must serve when convicted of a particular crime. In the case of drug possession, it typically depends on the amount of drugs. The purpose of this act was to harshen punishment on high level drug offenders; however, most drug cases that resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence involved low level offenders. Many people see this war on drugs more as a war on people, specifically those of color and youth living in low-income communities. Fortunately, in recent years, there have been significant reforms that stabilized the prison population. In 2014, U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to reduce sentences for tens of thousands of people imprisoned for federal drug offenses. Additionally, Attorney General Eric Holder began the launched the “Smart on Crime” initiative that would provide treatment in place of mandatory minimum sentences to non-violent, low level drug offenders.

Another issue with the prison system is the high rate of prisoners who return to prison after being released. Compared to other countries who have recidivism rates ranging between 20 and 30 percent, the United States towers at 76 percent. There are many obstacles that prevent prisoners from adjusting back to life in society once they are released.  One major setback is the difficulty to get a job if there you have a criminal record.  Thee inability to gain employment is a major component of recidivism. Many people argue that the prison system is more focused on punishing criminals as opposed to rehabilitating them. Prisoners should have the resources that will prepare them to succeed for the outside world. I’m going to discuss this issue more about this in a future post.

Harry Shulman, author of What is Wrong with American Prisons and Jails, wrote “The faults of American prisons and jails are not to be laid at the door of any single group… but of the entire structure of public crime control, which is content to deal with society’s manifold problems of economic, social, and human relations largely in terms of punishment.”  Perhaps there isn’t one person or law that can be blamed for America’s high incarceration and recidivism rates, but there are definitely many different aspects of this system that need reform.

Citations:

“Criminal Justice Facts.” The Sentencing Project, www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.

Quora. “Why Are Incarceration Rates In The US So High Relative To Other Countries?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 July 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/07/01/why-are-incarceration-rates-in-the-us-so-high-relative-to-other-countries/#49de5b5bf836.

Wagner, Peter, and Wendy Sawyer. “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2018.” States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2016 | Prison Policy Initiative, 14 Mar. 2018, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html.

Williams, Michael K. “War on Drugs Is a War on People.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Sept. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/opinions/war-on-drugs-michael-k-williams/index.html.