Mass Incarceration Is Defined As The Imprisonment Of A...

At the simplest level, mass incarceration is defined as the imprisonment of a large amount of people. However, that does not tell the whole story. The majority of people incarcerated are minorities, and although mass incarceration began as a system of unjust racial and social control, today it continues for many political reasons including government grants, swaying voter opinion, and for-profit prison revenue. The United States incarcerates more people, per capita, than any other nation in the entire world. State and local prisons and jails account for about 80% of incarcerations. Although crime rates have decreased since the 1990s, incarceration rates have soared. According to a recent Prison Policy Initiative publication, approximately 2.3 million people are currently â€Å"locked up† in the United States. Of these 2.3 million people, 1 in 5 are locked up for a drug related offense. Statistics show that prisoners and felons imprisoned for drug related crimes are disproportionately Black and Hispanic. The mass incarceration issue in the United States derives from the many arrests associated with these â€Å"offenses† regarding drugs and the war on drugs. Mass incarceration is the inhumane process by which people are cornered into the criminal â€Å"justice† system and recognized as criminals and felons. Criminals in the United States tend to receive longer sentences than those in other countries, even when they commit the same crimes. Furthermore, once these individuals are releasedShow MoreRelatedHow Stratification Creates Inequalities Within The Criminal Justice System2145 Words   |  9 PagesJustice System The population at large in the United Stated is very different than the population of the prison system. Racial inequality in the criminal justice system is often ignored because it does not affect most people. If there is to be a change in racial inequality, this issue is one that must be addressed. According to Inequality and Incarceration, â€Å"497 out of 100,000 Americans are imprisoned.† This means there is â€Å"less than one percent of people† in the United States that are imprisonedRead MoreDeath Of Black And White Penal : Hell Hole, Popular Media, And Mass Incarceration1904 Words   |  8 PagesKids can no longer play outside; people lock their doors at night. People fear daily whether they will make it back to their house at night. Some leave in the morning in a suit and tie off to their nine to five jobs, others go off into the streets, trying to make the best they can with what they have.  America is the leading nation of individuals in prison, represe nting almost a quarter of the worlds imprisoned population. 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In the colony of Jamestown Virginia, the demand forRead MoreMass Incarceration Nation : The Failing Of The American Criminal Justice System2691 Words   |  11 Pages Mass Incarceration Nation The Failing of the American Criminal Justice System Sophia Scales Ashford University Criminal Justice 201 Professor Ted Ellis November 17, 2014 American prison systems encompass all three spheres of criminal justice: law enforcement, judiciary, corrections. Within this system, a massive problem exists. America is known as the â€Å"mass incarceration nation† (Hamilton, 2014, p. 1271). Comparatively, the United States encompasses the majority of global prisonersRead MoreThe Issue Of Reoffending Rates1507 Words   |  7 PagesDownes (2001) argues that there is an ideological function of reoffending – to make capitalism look successful. This is because it soaks up a large percentage of the unemployed, therefore making unemployment official statistics look better. 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This confinement, whether before or after a cri minal conviction, is called incarceration. Incarceration is one of the main forms of punishment for the commission of illegal offenses. Juveniles and adults alike are subject to incarceration. Incarceration is the detention of a person in a jail or prison. The federal, state, and local governments have facilities to confine people. Individuals awaiting trial, being held pending citations for non-custodial offenses, and thoseRead MoreDiscrimination Based On The Colors Of One s Skin1678 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"thugs† often get the reputations of being dangerous, yet a â€Å"rebellious teen† might get sympathy due to the fact that he or she is young. When in reality everyone should be held equally accountable for their actions and no particular race or group of people should cause this responsibility to be differed. Also, within the job market there is discrimination based on the hues of one’s skin. In an experiment done at Duke University, college students were asked to choose between job candidates who presented

Deadly Unna Review Free Essays

â€Å"Deadly Unna† was the fist book published by the Australian Author â€Å"Phillip Gwynne† in 1998. The book focuses on racial tension, friendship, family conflict and relationships. The story is told in first person by the main character â€Å"Gary Black† more commonly know as â€Å"Blacky†. We will write a custom essay sample on Deadly Unna Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now The story is mostly Blacky’s relationship with Dumby Red, an indigenous Australian, and about how he, as a white Australian, changes throughout the book, by understanding the racial conflict and learning how to stand up for himself. Blacky is more academic than he is sporty; though he plays football for the town. He has a very large family consisting of 8 siblings, and he gets along with all of them, putting aside the occasional conflict. He has a good relationship with his mother; however, he has a terrible relationship with his father due to a past event. Dumby Red has a very enthusiastic, optimistic and self-confident personality. â€Å"Pickles† is Blacky’s best friend, and he disgustingly unhygienic, with gruesome habits. Blacky often goes to talk with his old next-door neighbour †Darcy†, who a maggot farmer and is full of advice to give Blacky. The story is set on a peninsula of Australia, all the whites living in the â€Å"Port† and all of the blacks living in the †Point† about 1hour drive from eachother. I believe the reason the Author made the distinct seperation between the white and black Australians is to emphasise the racial tension in the area. The book consists of two parts, â€Å"Winter† and â€Å"Summer†. Winter being the footy is mainly focused around the footy culture of the town and focuses on Blacky trying to be the hero in his team, and eventually succeeds although by accident. They win the grand final, and by the end of the winter, Blacky becomes very aware of the large racial tension in the book. The â€Å"Summer† part of the book is mainly filled with racial, and family conflict, and during the course of this Dumby is shot dead. Blacky is faced with many decisions he has to make, and he has to follow his heart to do what is right. This book moved too slowly for me, and containing much excess writing that wasn’t at all necessary nor did it relate to the main plot at all. The book never established the friendship between Blacky and Dumby red. After he died, Philip wrote about how they were such good friends, but there was nothing in earlier in the book to support that, so that confuses the readers a lot. Another factor is that it does not relate to many people in the world. It would only relate to people who come from a very Australian culture that knew all of the colloquial Australian language. I do not believe anyone that’s come from another country would understand the book at all. I don’t even think some Australians would understand it, as they might have been blocked off from it. Additionally, I think it loses variety by the style of writing and that isn’t at all a good thing. The worst thing about the book I believe is the way it can’t relate to an adult, or a teenager. It moves way too slowly for a teenager, and doesn’t have nearly enough happening to entertain most readers. However, it also had too many immature themes and thoughts for an adult to read, so it doesn’t really relate to any general age group. What I did like about this book is that it can educate young Australian teenagers about racism to a certain extent. Some people have no knowledge of racism, and I believe that with guidance, this book could educate them about some of the racism in Australia. Overall I rate the book 2 stars, as I do not believe it could do it’s job as a book to entertain the target audience, or at that any audience. Although I do believe that with the right insight, you could learn some things from it. How to cite Deadly Unna Review, Papers

Othello Tragedy Essay Example For Students

Othello Tragedy Essay Dustin MillsEnglish 102Dr. Elisabeth SachsOthello EssayHonest IagoOne of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play Othello, by William Shakespeare, is honest Iago. At first Iago seems to be motiveless. However, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iagos quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evils sake. Iagos greediness can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio, and most importantly, Othello. Iagos main interest is the destruction of Othello. The reason being that Othello has chosen another man, Cassio, as his second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by Iagos accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise the kindly moor. Because Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he proceeds with the arduous process of dismantling him emotionally. Iago also knows he must distance himself from any part of this, so he cleverly gets someone to do his dirty work. The first to fall victim to Iagos manipulation is half-witted Roderigo. Iago knows Roderigo is consumed by lust for Desdemona, and would do what it takes to make her his own. Iago tells Roderigo that the only way to win Desdemonas love is to make money to procure gifts for her. Put money in thy purse(act I scene 3 line 339). However Iago is just taking those gifts intended for Desdemona and keeping them for himself, and making a profit. Roderigo eventually starts to question Iagos honesty. When faced with the accusations, Iago simply offers that the killing of Cassio will aid in his cause and Roderigo falls for it. In doing this, Iago keeps Roderigo in the dark and continues to profit from him monetarily. Roderigo is also used as a device in both Cassio and Othellos downfall. Iagos actions demonstrate his monetary and power based motivations, invalidating the claim that Iago is evil for evils sake. Cassio like Roderigo follows Iago blindly, thinking the whole time that Iago is trying to aid him, when in fact Iago, motivated by his lust for power, is attempting to remove Cassio of his position as lieutenant. With Roderigos help Iago causes Cassio to forfeit his position as Othellos second-in-command. Cassio is also used to bring out the monster inside of Othello. In Iagos exploitation of Cassio, it is clear to see that, although evil in his deeds, Iago is strictly motivated by his hunger for power. As mentioned earlier, Iagos main intention lies in the degradation of Othello. Iago feels that he was best suited to hold the position of lieutenant, as opposed to Michael Cassio. From this Iago manufactures accusations of adultery, claiming that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia. Twixt my sheets/ hes done my office.(Act I scene 3 line 380) These accusations are merely excuses to validate his own pleasant acts and greed, and should be seen as nothing more. Again its plain to see that, in Iagos deception of Othello he is motivated by his jealousy and subsequent bitterness. In conclusion, its evident that Iago is evil for greeds sake, as opposed to evil for evils sake. His craving can be seen in his clever manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses Roderigo for his own financial benefit, as well as support his master plan; the destruction of Othello. Cassio was unfortunate enough to be chosen ahead of Iago as Othellos second-in-command, and was reduced to a deteriorat ed state by Iago because of it. Lastly, driven by his bitterness towards Othello for choosing Cassio over him, Iago takes it upon himself to ensure Othellos demise. Iago is an extremely complex character, and far from ordinary. His complexity and uniqueness makes him one of Shakespeares greatest villains.