The American Injustice System

America is known to be the land of the free but ironically, it is the #1 country in the world with the highest prison population. In fact, 2.3 million Americans are behind bars today and 64% of Americans have an immediate family member who has been incarcerated at some point in their life. Most likely, some of us reading this have or know someone who has been to prison. America’s prison system is outdated and punishes the disadvantaged in our society instead of protecting all Americans. I hope to convince you all about the importance of prison reform by discussing some of its major issues. America’s prison system needs reform because it benefits from racial and economic injustices and punishes those with drug addictions instead of giving them the proper help needed to recover.

It would be inappropriate to discuss the issues of the American prison system without first discussing the issue of slavery in America. America’s prison system is a form of slavery that still benefits from racial injustices that developed during America’s beginnings. America’s first prison boom was right after the Civil War. This may seem like a strange time in history for a prison boom but allow me to elaborate. The southern states depended on slavery to run their economy. The southern states were in ruin after the civil war and needed a way to rebuild their economy. So, once again they turned to slavery. But, President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery with the 13th Amendment right? Sort of--The 13th Amendment actually abolishes slavery except as a punishment for a crime. It did not take long for the Southern states and the rest of America to exploit this loophole in the 13th Amendment. During this time period, we can see a rise in the criminalization of the black man in America. News and entertainment of the time period depicted black men as violent criminals. The goal of this was to create public anxiety and get the majority populations to fear minority groups. Black men started to be arrested in mass numbers and then once again forced to work as slaves just under the category of “criminals” who deserved punishment for their crimes. States could get away with using free labor as long as they could label their slaves as criminals. Just to give you a timeline: 1865--The Civil War ends, 1865--the 13th Amendment is ratified, by 1870 --95% of the Southern prison population is black. This is why the first prison boom was right after the Civil War-- because America still ran on slavery. Slavery was never truly abolished; it was converted to a new form. Today, Politicians use the same methods of criminalization to try and scare the majority population into fearing minority groups. States use immigrants placed in detainment centers for cheap labor by forcing them to work for businesses for as little as one dollar a day wages.

America's prison system does not only benefit from racial injustice but also from economic injustices that separate the lower class from the wealthy and widen the gap between the rich and poor in America. A writer named Dylan Mattews, while writing about prison statistics in 2018, stated that “the best way to escape prison is to be born into rich families.” This seems like ridiculous advice. Wouldn’t the best way to escape prison be simply to not commit a crime? Unfortunately, this is not the case in America. The point that Dylan Matthews was trying to make is that poor people lack the resources required to obtain their “get out of jail free card.” It is not that poor people are more criminal, but rather that the wealthier just get away with more crimes. For example, police target poorer neighborhoods while ignoring the criminal activities taking place in big corporations. Police hang around poor neighborhoods waiting for someone to commit a crime so they can lock them away which is unfortunate because prison traps families in a cycle of inescapable poverty. Once a family loses their father or mother to the American justice system the rest of the family has to take over their role. This forces many children to start working or taking care of the house from a young age and distracts them from their education. Although prison is meant to rehabilitate prisoners into society, after an ex-con finishes their sentence, there is still a permanent stain left on their future. Because of their criminal record, many ex-cons are unable to find work. Work, if found, does not usually pay higher than the minimum wage--which is not enough to support living conditions in today’s world, nor is it enough to support a family. This also keeps poor people out of good neighborhoods and jobs because no one wants to live and work next to ex-cons. Thus stifling the competition. Another major stain on a former prisoner’s future is that, after serving their sentence, they are still unable to vote in America which limits their voice in society. In 2017 the Brennan Center for Justice estimated 6 million American’s can’t vote because of past convictions. Many of these people convicted are not criminals but simply disadvantaged people who do not have enough money to afford bail, good lawyers, and a way to investigate cases properly. This was the case for the young 16-year-old boy named Kalief Browder who was falsely accused of stealing a backpack and was sentenced to prison for three years of his life because his family could not pay his 3,000 dollar bail. He spent two out of the three years in solitary confinement despite never being convicted for a crime. After his release, he committed suicide because he was “haunted by the mental and physical torture he was subjected to by officers” to directly quote his brother.

The third major reason why the American prison system needs reform is because the system punishes those with drug addictions instead of giving them the proper help needed to recover. America’s prison population exploded in the 1970's after President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” During this time period, both political parties viewed America’s drug problem as a criminal problem and sought to repair America by fixing this issue. Today, America’s drug problem still exists. However, drug addiction should be seen as a mental health concern instead of a criminal concern. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, in 2020 45% of inmates are in prison for drug charges. To help reduce the number of people inside prisons, states can start by reducing the number of years sentenced for those with drug charges or eliminate sentencing for drug charges altogether and get those addicted to drugs the proper help they need to recover. Those charged with minor possession of drugs will be forced to share cells and common areas with people charged with murder and rape. The problem is that, for prisoners, prison is about survival--not rehabilitation. People with drug offenses will have no time to recover from addiction if all they worry about is how to survive in prison. Many people who enter prison with small drug charges leave prison with psychological trauma. Prisons create an abusive environment where no prisoner can feel safe. In fact, prisoners often suffer both sexual and physical abuse while in prison. We can see an example of this through Kalief Browder’s story. Although he was not convicted of drug charges, his time in prison greatly deteriorated his mental health due to the abuse he faced by the oppressive American prison system. Another issue is that many people who enter prison for these minor drug charges often never leave prison because they get caught up in the cycle of violence that prisons create. Some prisoners feel forced to make decisions they would never normally make to protect their safety or their families safety. For example, some prisoners feel forced to sell drugs, join prison gangs, or even kill an abuser.

In conclusion, I hope you all were able to learn something about the American prison system and why it is doing more harm than good to the American people--particularly those who already face disadvantages. Sorry that I only discussed a few main issues when there are so many more reason why prison systems need reform. I encourage you to do your own research and find answers for yourself. It is important to keep American people safe but it is important to remember that prisoners are people too and should be treated as such. Especially considering that many of those arrested are simply victims of the American justice system.