Reflection Essay : Too Many Laws, Too Many Prisoners
The main topic of this article is focused on American Prison; on how it has in time created such a huge population. Justice in America is rough in comparison to other rich countries , around 2.3 million people are behind bars which includes those in parole and probation and those under correctional supervision. According to top law enforcement officer in America by the name of Eric Holder, “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason”. A rate of five times that of Britain, nine times more than Germany and twelve times more than Japan has been recorded. Nearly sixty percent of inmates are housed in Federal prisons which is way more than its designed capacity. Heavier drug penalties would be the main cause and driver of this overwhelming growth, even just a minimal possession of illegal drugs would lead to at least three years of imprisonment in Massachusetts for example. Even first time non violent offenders has to go to jail for a certain period of time. Another area of concentration would be the reason why this population continues to rise. The article explains the truths about Americas' broken system. According to criminologists, the system has three major flaws, one in puts too many people away for too long. Prisoners locked up for more than decade and at the same time at an old age that would less likely to create trouble or violence are still being held in prison. Two , it criminalizes acts that need not be criminalized. Alabama for example, gave a life term to a petty thief Jerald Sanders for pinching a bicycle. Three, it is unpredictable. Due to the the laws being vague and hard to understand, people are getting confused if they broke the law or not. The system has it's strengths as well. Though population in prison is extremely high, it marked a decline in it's crime rate. In the past two decades, crime rate has fallen since the bad guys are in prison or are scared of being sent there. Crime rate continuously drops down despite the recession because of the fact that habitual acts of crime committed by a certain individual or habitual criminals would face serious consequences. An increasing number of prisoners, reduces crime rate. Security creates the feeling of being safe for the people in the community since petty thieves and thugs are being put aside. Another good factor would be the programs they give to offenders.
Social Problem In today’s society every family is face with some type of social problem. Most people believe that social problems have existed since the beginning of civilized mankind. A social problem is some aspect of society that people are concerned about and would like change (Henslin & Fowler 6). One’s view of a social problem can be influence by things such as value, views of life, culture, and religion. My family had been face with one of the oldest social problems in society. Alcoholism…
Social problems vary from state to state to person to person. The effects of them play major roles in our community and affect us all in different shapes and forms. We devote time in effort by voting, blogging, and even raising concern in different media outlets. These are all personal approaches in which we feel like we can make the biggest impact by these approaches. What most don’t understand for almost every social issue and concern that we have there is an organization that backs it and rallies…
Introduction to Social Problems Chapter 1: Studying Social Problems Social Problems • Social problem = an issue that negatively affects a person’s state of being in a society and is usually a matter of public controversy • Activity: What do you think is the most important social problem today? • Social problems change over time -compare to 1935 The Sociological Imagination • Sociological Imagination (SI) = ability to look beyond the individual as the cause for success and failure and see…
Bates 1 Denise Bates The Change in Our Future Southwest Tennessee Community College Social Problems March 16, 2015 Prof. Jacob Edwards Bates 2 Humanity is progressing at great strides, or at least at the technological level. No aspect of our everyday lives goes by without technology touching it somehow; either if it’s for the good or bad, and I believe we’re only in the beginner stages. Artificial intelligence promises to give its machines the ability to think logically, using concepts, and…
Conversation Styles: Men and Women There’s no debating whether or not men and women differ immensely as it pertains to conversation styles, body language, and communication aspects. The general stereotype is that women love to talk and men are forced to listen; it’s a trait that some men even find undesirable and even irritating. While researching and witnessing multiple conversations for myself, I was able to put these generalizations to the test. The setting of the examined conversation was…
just as hard or even harder than men and most can provide for children mentally, physically, and emotionally. Social change creates many social problems in a functional society. Social problems usually affect our society, and our harmony becomes disturbed and in society, there is hostility and suspicion. Culture according to our text (Leon-Guerrero, 2011) is one of the biggest social problems in regards to trying to understand the difference between the individual society. (Leon_Guerrero 2011) stated…
Ecstasy Use Among Adolescents Drugs have always been a huge social problem throughout history, in most recent years the increase of MDMA or Ecstasy, which is also known as “club drugs”, has hit an all time high. MDMA is known to the Drug Enforcement Agency as a Schedule I controlled substance, with the issue of MDMA growing almost faster than any other drug on the market the Drug Enforcement Agency has to find new ways of being able to contain it. The number of teens who end up in the emergency…
Social Problems in America Many of Americans today do not take the time to realize that our nation is little by little falling apart. Our leaders are corrupt, our environment is being destroyed, and there are thousands of children being born each day. The three major social problems facing the American citizens in the 21st century are births to unmarried woman, being able to trust or government and or leaders, and lastly destroying the environment. The first major social problem facing…
Media as a Social Problem The mass media plays a large role in modern society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in "mass-mediated" interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then, would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largely failed in addressing and helping to solve social problems. As seen…
Marijuana as a Social Problem Introduction Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. You may hear marijuana called by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic. There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana. All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. In other words, they change how the brain works. They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active chemical…
