{"id":717,"date":"2016-02-22T12:42:03","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T17:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feminem.org\/?p=717"},"modified":"2016-04-13T16:32:44","modified_gmt":"2016-04-13T21:32:44","slug":"mass-incarceration-part2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feminem.org\/2016\/02\/22\/mass-incarceration-part2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass Incarceration: An Emergency We Must Address- Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
Felony status imposes lifelong limits on a person\u2019s ability to vote and serve on juries, gain employment and education, and access public housing. It has also been associated with significant decreases in life expectancy.\u00a0 Mass incarceration is the result of intentional policy decisions over the past forty years that were motivated by race. In part one, we explored the history of mass incarceration came to be and how these policies have impacted those caught up in the prison system. In part two, we will examine why there are racial differences in mass incarceration and how we can manage a criminal justice system beyond jail or prison.<\/p>\n
Why are racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration?<\/em><\/p>\n A wide range of policies from slavery to legislated housing discrimination (e.g. redlining) have limited community investment and upward mobility in communities of color. According to Ta Nehisi Coates, many of these policies have criminalized simply being black. For example, the historical Fugitive Slave Act criminalized seeking freedom and vagrancy laws criminalized being out of work in areas where no one would hire blacks. 1<\/sup> These \u201ccrimes\u201d and racist stereotypes of blacks as criminal or violent have led both black and white Americans to be biased and fearful toward African Americans. 1<\/sup> However, on a much more direct level, African Americans find themselves crossing paths with the criminal justice system more often than whites for a wide variety of reasons. Ultimately, however, they boil down to three main factors:<\/p>\n What are the alternatives to incarceration? <\/em><\/p>\n The impact of incarceration is profound, disproportionate, and expensive. Because this system is now so entrenched, it can be difficult to see how it could be any other way. However, there are many important alternatives to prison that are often cheaper and more effective at achieving the ultimate goals of improved community safety and offender rehabilitation. Some examples include:<\/p>\n Mass incarceration is the result of intentional, discriminatory policy decisions in housing and criminal justice. These policies were designed to have a disproportionate impact on communities of color, particularly black communities, to appeal to white middle and working class voters. Their impact was further bolstered by conscious and unconscious bias in detection of crime and enforcement of penalties. Those caught up in the system have little recourse because the courts have insisted that they must prove conscious bias exists to challenge the penalties they face. Incarceration places serious limits on social and economic opportunity and health throughout an offender\u2019s life, even worse it places similar limits on the opportunities of offenders\u2019 children. It is not an intractable problem though, by reversing damaging policy decisions, addressing racial bias (particularly unconscious bias) in the criminal justice system head on, and using more creative and constructive strategies to deal with crime, we can improve community safety for everyone and have more resources available to support the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n References<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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