User talk:Knfrankl

Imprisonment Binge
Imprisonment Binge

Definition- Imprisonment Binge can be described as America's Judicial System trying to control crime rates in the United States, by sending offenders to prison no matter the crime. The purpose of this binge was to try and keep our streets safer and criminals off of them. According to Lynch, if incarceration was an effective crime control strategy then crimes should decrease (2007, p. 173). Much of this thought process came from the "get tough" on crime idea, as society feared crime and becoming victims. The get tough idea resulted in harsher penalties for lesser crimes, which increased the prison population exponentially. The thought was that if offenders went to jail or prison, they could be rehabilitated and become useful and productive members of society. Because of this, the prison population grew in great numbers throughout the years.

Effects- The problem with this imprisonment binge is that it actually didn't change anything except the prison population. This binge did not reduce crime, limit the number of violent crimes or correct the drug problem(Gilbert, E., p. 145). Indeterminate sentencing was the process used in the 1970s, but soon changed to determinate sentencing which required a minimum sentence for guilty offenders. This minimum sentence has been once reason for the increased prison population, as offenders have to serve out their sentence before any chance of release. According to Batey, mandatory minimums fail to account for the unique circumstances of offenders who warrant a lesser penalty (2007, p. 45). Due to the war on drugs that occurred in the 1980's and 1990's, many offenders accused of possession crimes were going to prison for longer terms. This war on drugs also led to an increase in the minority population in prisons.

Criticism- If the criminal justice system were to decriminalize drug possession for addicts or require juries to find sentencing factors without a reasonable doubt, the prison population would more than likely be much lower than it is (Batey, R, p. 51). If there were less harsh punishments for people who were caught with drugs in their possession, in their system, or in the process of using, the prison population would also decrease. If an option was to rehabilitate the convicted in a program, group home, etc, then the prison population would decrease. Using indeterminate sentencing, which allows for release on good behavior or when the offender has been rehabilitated, would help decrease the results from the imprisonment binge.

Evidence Support Presence in Society- When looking at the war on drugs, it did not actually decrease the amount of crimes occurring. The result was an increase in the prison population, mostly of African American males. They are very disproportionally represented in the prison systems due to discrimination and racial bias, which is called Malign Neglect (Gilbert,E., p. 146). Politicians knew what to do in regards to making the public feel safe. They took the discrimination and racial bias that is present in society and used it to their advantage by imprisoning African Americans, therefore giving the rest of society a false sense of safety. To do so, politicians implemented law and order, sentencing guidelines, habitual offender laws, mandatory sentencing, and the war on drugs (Gilbert,E., p. 146). This results in most of the culprits being of the African American race which led to the increase in prison populations and the disproportion of minorities in the system.

Sources