The prison system in United States has been used to create order in society. The system was designed in the past allowing law offenders to be removed from the community and locked up in institutions. Prisons still exist today, and through reforms, they have largely changed. In the past, there were issues of overpopulation with harsh punishment systems. The current systems concentrate on rehabilitating the individuals and preparing them to be reintegrated into society. Different views have been provided on aspects of the prison system in the past, changes in the twenty-first century, and political influence. Alexander (2011) discusses the issue of how mass incarceration has maintained its past aspects. She indicates that “the more things change, the more they remain the same” (Alexander, 2011, p.1). The case of Jarvious Cotton family, for example, illustrates how the prison system has maintained its aspects. Jarvious cannot vote because he is an African American man labeled as a felon. His father could not vote due to literacy tests and poll taxes, Jarvious great grandfather died as he tried to vote while his great great grandfather was a slave thus could not vote. The issue shown in the article is that the Jim Crow laws still exist, despite having been abolished, creating racial inequality. The interesting factor is the promotion of democracy and equality in the United States, which are only in theory. In practical, however, African Americans are still segregated on factors such as democracy rights. The section that hit was “The Birth of Mass Incarceration,” which was a way of removing most African Americans in the streets, thus denying them their rights (Alexander, 2011, p.40). According to Orwell (n.d.), the prison state has become an issue in America with reforms needs, related to overpopulation in institutions. The need for change has caught the political spectrum. The problem goes beyond the number of prisons, extending to the methods punishment applied to and ensuring that the inmates' democracy rights are fulfilled and respected. The society is fighting for democracy, rights, and citizens for the prisons, and that creates a political and social challenge. The point brought forth, in this case, is the political involvement in promoting penal change. However, I disagree with the issue of political involvement in creating prison reforms. The political parties will take advantage of the needs of people, exploiting the situation by convincing people to vote for a particular party, promising to make these changes. I feel that the judiciary should be in charge of improving the prison system and ensuring that the inmates practice their rights. United States has the largest number of prison population, as researched by Mauer (2005). The main social issue is race incarceration. Political dynamics are used in confinement, indicating that being tough on crime, through imprisoning more people, is advantageous as it reduces the number of criminals in the society. In the Jim Crow era, imprisonment was used as an approach to control the high African American population. It related to Orwell's (n.d.) view on “The Birth of Mass Incarceration” and Alexander (2011) racial inequality. The point being put across is that the prison system was created mainly to lock up the African Americans, associated with crime due to their skin color and inferior race considerations. The interesting thing in the article is changes done in the twenty-first century. The prisons are no longer for black people alone, and the reforms have promoted democracy and rehabilitation. The prison system has changed over the decades; it started a time when persons were used in reducing the African American population. Political interference has resulted in reforms, thus improving the situation in the twenty-first century. It is seen with addressing the overpopulation issue, changing the punishment system, and promoting democracy and inmates’ rights.
References
Alexander, M. (2011). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York Times Best Seller , 1–58.
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Mauer, M. (2005). Thinking About Prison and its Impact in the Twenty-First Century. Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law , 2 , 607–618.
Orwell, G. (n.d.). The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics. Princeton University Press , 1–22.
