Introduction
How many of you have felt deprived of your freedom during the COVID-19 Pandemic ? If you have been affected, imagine having your freedom taken away for other reasons such as minor drug offenses or even wrongful convictions
I am here to address mass incarceration, a system that has been endorsed in the United States by the federal government to reduce crime.
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As tax-paying citizens, you should have expectations that tax dollars are used logically, and in a way, that benefits society. That is however far from the truth when it comes to the mass incarceration, a system in which only a few contract with the government and unfairly benefit.
Against the expectation of many, billions of taxpayer dollars are misappropriated through the provision of prison services
Evidence of the extent of ineffectiveness of the system is given by Wagner and Rabuy (2017) who assert that approximately 182 billion U.S dollars is annually spent on mass incarcerations, a system that has failed to produce the expected results.
Besides, from the perspective of those incarcerated, the system perpetrates traumatic experiences that harms women’s and infants’ health, therefore violating human rights.
Given your rough understanding of the adverse effects of mass incarcerations, let us now delve into looking at particular negative outcomes that warrant reforms.
Body
Private prisons and other for-profit corporations benefit the most from mass incarcerations.
By 2016, 8.5 percent of prisoners in the U.S were incarcerated in privately owned prisons (Gotsch & Basti 2018).They contract with the government to make profits.
The state of offenders in immigration detention was worse, with 73 percent of them being held at private facilities.
a. The main concern is the poor quality of services in private prisons.
b. A reduction in the labor force in private prisons compromises the quality of service.
c. With correctional officers in private facilities earning up to $23,850 less than their counterparts in the public sector, doubt is cast on private prisons’ ability to equip its taskforce with required skills (Gotsch & Basti, 2018).
As you would have, some people would think that it is institutions that mainly benefit from the system. A close analysis of the issue resulted in the understanding that different demographics are adversely affected by mass incarcerations. To understand the intricate nature of the problem, let us now analyze the impact it has on those directly or indirectly affected.
The rate of wrongful conviction would make one question the competence of the judicial system. Let us see how bad it is.
The high prevalence of wrongful convictions in the United States makes mass incarceration the reason many innocent citizens are imprisoned.
High legal and judicial fees, an amount that is not affordable to many derails individuals from receiving fair trials, especially when they cannot afford a lawyer. They could end up wrongly convicted as a result.
The estimated wrongful conviction rate is 2 to 10 percent of all sentences, translating to up to 230, 000(Grisham, 2018),
Petty offenders are often sent into prisons for failing to raise bails.
The scenarios above demonstrate that there are people who are wrongfully imprisoned.
Now that we have had an overview of how the current correctional system affects some demographics, let us now see how some vulnerable populations are negatively impacted.
Lastly, mass incarceration is a public health issue in the U.S., impacting more than just law offenders.
Mass incarcerations have adverse psychological effects on inmates.
The rate of asthma, diabetes, HIV, hypertension, and hepatitis C is high among current and previous inmates.
Infant mortality is also higher in children born of previously incarcerated mothers than from the general public.
Preterm birth is increased by 3 percent among black women linked to mass incarcerations (Dyer et al., 2019).
This data explains the persistence in reproductive health inequalities.
Louisiana, a state with a high number of preterm births and a high number of previously incarcerated women, contextualizes the above.
Let us now recap the effects of mass incarcerations that warrant the institution of change.
Conclusion.
To sum up
The mass incarcerations system is one of the ways that billions of taxpayer dollars are mismanaged.
Other than being to the advantage of those whose hard work ensure the system effectively functions, it has instead benefited private prison owners who contract with the government.
One of the recommendations that ensures mitigation of problems such as wrongful convictions and imprisonment of minor drug offenders, the contract between the government and private prison owners should come to an end.
Besides cutting off the link between the government and private contractors, a petition seeking to reform our justice system would be necessary for curbing this fast-growing menace to our society.
While he above suggestions could have a positive impact, It is, imperative that all of us who are concerned about the negative impact of mass incarcerations join to reform our flawed justice system into one that upholds the principles of our constitution.
References
Cullen, J. (2018, July 20). The history of mass incarceration . Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/history-mass-incarceration
Dyer, L., Hardeman, R., Vilda, D., Theall, K., & Wallace, M. (2019). Mass incarceration and public health: The association between Black jail incarceration and adverse birth outcomes among Black women in Louisiana. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth , 19 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2690-z
Gotsch, K., & Basti, V. (2018, August 2). Capitalizing on mass incarceration: U.S. growth in private prisons. The Sentencing Project . https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/capitalizing-on-mass-incarceration-u-s-growth-in-private-prisons/
Grisham, J. (2018, March 11). Eight reasons for America’s shameful number of wrongful convictions. Los Angeles Times . https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-grisham-wrongful-convictions-20180311-story.html
Maxwell, C., & Solomon, D. (2018, June 5). Mass incarceration, stress, and Black infant mortality . Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/06/05/451647/mass-incarceration-stress-black-infant-mortality/
Nott, D. (2016, May 25). What is Mass Incarceration? Medium Corporation .
https://medium.com/@dan_nott/what-is-mass-incarceration-ff737196580
Wagner, P., & Rabuy, B. (2017, January 25). Following the money of mass incarceration . Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/money.html
