Mass Incarceration In The U.S.

Criminal Justice System

LAUREN GARCIA
SOCIOLOGY 1
PROFESSOR LOOKHOLDER
7/23/2017
 History of The Criminal Justice System

Criminal justice system was created during the colonial days

Citizens were subject to the laws and rules of the British
Laws and Punishments were not always fare
In the 17th century William Penn began to promote reform in the
Criminal Justice system and helped to see these changes
implemented
After the American revolution, The U.S. Constitution was created
Guaranteed rights and freedoms
It was the starting point to guidelines for crimes and punishment
and procedures that needed to be followed to protect the rights
of the innocent
( The US Criminal Justice History Resource Page).
War on drugs: Overcrowding In Correctional
Facilities

1970s Richard Nixon began the War

On Drugs
Nixon believed that drug users were
criminals attacking the moral fiber of
the nation, therefore they deserved to
be incarcerated and punished
Increased the size of federal drug
control agencies
Pushed through measures such as,
mandatory sentencing and no knock
warrants
Minorities were targeted
( A Brief History Of The Drug War).
Odds Of Incarceration
 Modern Views On The Criminal Justice
System
Pros
In America if you are accused of a
crime you are innocent until proven
guilty
The 5th Amendment which protects
the accused from saying anything
Right to an attorney
Has maintained social law and order
by prison acting as a deterrent
(Cummings).
Cons
Plea bargain: deal offered by a
prosecutor as an incentive for a
defendant to plead guilty
Harsher punishments for non-violent
crimes
Racial profiling and biased judges
increase the severity of punishments
for minor crime
Over population decreased
rehabilitation rates
(Cummings).
 First Hand View Of The Criminal Justice
System

Susan Brown
(Former inmate)
People should understand that
simply exercising their rights would
shake the foundations of our justice
system which works only so long as
we accept its terms (Alexander).
Exercise your 6th amendment right

Robert Barton
( California Inspector General)
Not only should criminals be
prosecuted and punished, but also
they should be rehabilitated and
accepted back into society once
their debt to society has been paid
(Barton).
 The Evolution Of The Criminal Justice
System

Originally established to
enforce laws and keep the
peace
Later became a tool for
officials subjugate
minorities
Increased punishments for
minor offenses has led to
mass incarceration
Statistics show low success
rate for rehabilitation of
inmates
 Causes Of Change To Institutions

Adapting to the times

New rules and regulations
Societies views on importance and effectiveness
Leaders and members management of institutions
Changes to size of institutions
 Features Of Institutions That Remain

Intimidation and force used to control inmates

Bias discriminations
No major structural reforms to the institution
Negative perceptions of inmates to society
Rehabilitation low success rates
(Barton)
 Possible Improvements To Combat Mass
Incarceration

Decrease length of sentences for minor offenses

Create better programs to rehabilitate inmates into
society
Properly prosecute and defending each individual
Providing key resources and outreach programs for
communities
(Conte)
 Perspectives Of Institutions Effectiveness
Functionalist
Has maintained social law
and order by prison acting
as a deterrent
Makes up for the failings of
other institutions such as
the family and education
systems
Conflict
Injustice of ethnic groups
incarcerated
Effects on the progression
of ethnic groups
Laws that continue to
enforce the positions of
those in power
 Works Cited

Alexander, Michelle. "New York Times." Go to trial; Crash the justice system 11 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Print.
Anderson, Monica. "Vast majority of blacks view the criminal justice system as unfair." Pew Research Center. N.p.,
12 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 July 2017. <http://pewrsr.ch/Y0snl2>.
Barton, Robert. How to change our broken criminal justice system.TEDx.YouTube. N.p., 20 Apr. 2017. Web. 20 July
2017. <https://youtu.be/8u14lTUvgZs>.
Caroline, Simon. There is a stunning gap between the number of white and black inmates in American prisons
Business Insider. 16 June. 2016 : Print.
Conte, Sabrina . "How to fix the Criminal Justice System." New York Times. Henry Xu, 11 May 2016.Web.
<https://nyti.ms/2ijcjaW>.
Cummings, Lane. "Pros and Cons of the Criminal Justice System." Legal Beagle. N.p., 16 June 2017.Web.
"A Brief History Of The Drug War." We Are The Drug Policy Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/new-solutions-drug-policy/brief-history-drug-war-0>.
"The US Criminal Justice History Resource Page." Criminal Justice. N.p., Dec. 2016.Web.
<http://www.criminaljusticedegree.net/resources/the-us-criminal-justice-history-resource-page/>.