We believe that incarceration rates in the United States are too high. In the United States, 500 per 100,000 people are incarcerated compared to 100 per 100,000 in the rest of the world. Within that statistic, one in three black males is expected to go to jail in their lifetime and that compares to one in seventeen white males. Also, nearly a third of all female prisoners worldwide are incarcerated in the United States. Minority disparity, public funding of prisons, mental health of prisoners, and racial oppression are some of the things that are wrong with the country’s prison system. We put people in state prison for mere drug possession, petty property crimes, and other victimless crimes alongside the violent criminals. We need to try to keep people out of prison and not put them in prison. Also, while people are in prison, they should be able to learn how to adapt to the real world when they get out and also receive an education for themselves. A lot of the people in prison come from a low class society and do not have the privilege to know how to hold a job or get an education.This could teach them to earn their way properly and also could prevent recidivism.
We believe ex-offenders should have the ability to vote. Without the ability to vote, these citizens are left out of a big part of our population that are being under represented. Without their representation, the U.S., will continue to be the highest in incarceration rates. We also believe it would be beneficial to criminals, ex-convicts, states, and society as a whole if the legal system works to create behavior improvement programs and teaching programs. Some of these programs can help rule out people who have mental disorders and may commit crimes as a result of their compromised mental state, for which they should get proper treatment, not a prison sentence. All inmates face so many obstacles once they are released but minorities face even more obstacles that are systematically difficult to overcome. We advocate for lower incarceration rate, for the minorities, for women incarcerated, the mentally ill, and anyone who has been mistreated in this country of inmates….
