The Epidemic Of Mass Incarceration Essay - 1880 Words

Introduction The epidemic of mass incarceration affects many families within the United States. The problems of mass incarceration have been echoed far and wide, but it was not until recent years that the issue has been acknowledged, let alone fully addressed. Authors such as MK Asante and Bryan Stevenson, and filmmakers such as Ava Duvernay, have all discussed mass incarceration and its common threads such as the collapse of family structures, damage to mental, physical, and communal health, amongst other lasting impacts. Despite the commonalities, each artist takes on a different perspective on the issue and presents it in a different light. Essay A MK Asante, in his book Buck: The Memoir, highlights the devastation of mass incarceration on the family structure and on individuals, particularly young individuals, who are incarcerated. Asante utilizes an informal tone and jargon the way in which the penal and justice systems dehumanizes those it is meant to reform. Asante’s informal approach and use of jargon turns the issue of mass incarceration into a conversation that engages readers. His feelings about the penal system and justice system are spelled out in the form of a narrative, thus making it easier for the reader to remain engaged. Brian Stevenson focuses on a variety of factors and their contribution to mass incarceration such as a lack of knowledge about mental health and the deterioration of one s well being as a result of imprisonment. He utilizes anecdotesShow MoreRelatedMass Incarceration Essay1278 Words   |  6 Pages MASS INCARCERATION The prison population in the United states has increased 500% in thirty years. Since the 1970s social inequality has impacted the American prison system. America has 2.3 million people in prison which is â€Å"five times more than England and twelve times more than Japan.† We want to know why our prison population is growing and what are the core reasons. Has our society caused mass incarceration? 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Evidence suggests the mass imprisonment policy from the last 40 years was a horrible catastrophe. Putting more people in prison not only ruined lives, it disrupted families, prevented ex-prisoners to find housing, to get an education, or even a good job. Regrettably, the United States has a higher percent of its population incarceratedRead MoreJust Mercy : A Story Of Justice And Redemption Essay1432 Words   |  6 Pagesthe McMillian story, Stevenson presents his personal story about being raised in a racially segregated community, attending Harvard Law School, and founding the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). Individual chapters address topics ranging from mass incarceration to mental illness to racism to wrongful convictions. The major cases, secondary to McMillian’s case, focus on juveniles sentences to life without parole. 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Another important topic is that a certain race and ethnicity are behind bars which are the African Americans and Latinos than whites. But African Americans are 1 in 3, Latinos are 1 in 6, and whites are 1 in 17 who will be in prison during their lifetimeRead MoreRacial Inequalities And Racial Inequality1228 Words   |  5 Pagesoppressed but also how society functions as a whole. Racial inequalities have manifested in American society in ways that underlies a wide range of societal domains such as housing patterns, educational opportunities, healthcare inequality, and incarceration rates. Current events and experiences demonstrate moreover that racial inequality is still adamant in the American culture. Long after slavery, the Jim Crow Era, and the civil rights movement, racial inequality has taken distinctive forms whichRead MoreMass Incarceration Of Poor Black Male4177 Words   |  17 Pages Mass Incarceration of poor, black male, and increasingly female, young people in the Name of a Bogus War on Drugs Purpose of the Study Purpose Statement: to reveal the problem of mass incarceration of poor, black male, and increasingly female, young people in the name of a bogus war on drugs from the 1980 s?90 s. The purpose of this study is to expose the process of mass incarcerationRead MoreEssay On Superstitions In Huckleberry Finn1084 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican Americans and other peoples of color. For instance, the mass rates of incarceration against African American and Latinx Americans have continued to rise ever since the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980’s, that primarily effected African American communities, and in 1994 when former President Bill Clinton signed the 1994 Crime bill that created the infamous â€Å"three strikes† rule that allowed for the continuation for mass incarceration to still exist today. These two pivotal moments in history isRead MoreThe War On Drugs And The United States1506 Words   |  7 Pagestalking point, mass incarceration has become a veritable crisis. The United States now has over 2 million citizens languishing in prisons -- far and away in the most in the globe, and a nearly 68% recidivism rate. Most Americans are quick to blame the dire state of mass incarceration in the United States today on the punitive drug war policies instituted by the likes of Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon; however the reality is much more equivocal. Further analysis of mass incarceration - its causes