Why is that people of minority are
overrepresented in private prisons?
It is because of the private prison's contractual provision that
health—and therefore age—tends to serve as a proxy for race.
Also, age and health serve as dual proxies for race when explaining
the persistent racial disparities in private versus public facilities
with similar population profiles. Because elderly and/or geriatric
prisoners tend to cost twice more to incarcerate, private prison
management companies responsible for providing health services exempt
themselves contractually from accepting and housing prisoners with
chronic medical conditions as well as those whose health care costs
will be “above average.” In other words, "proxy"
provides how unconscious bias can often influence decision making. Up until the mid 20th
century, two-thirds of the US prison population were non-Hispanic
white. Today, that’s
totally inverted — about a third of all prisoners around the
country are white and around two-thirds of minorities. What do you see as the single
most important thing Americans can do to make the justice system
more equitable for all Americans?
The idea of "liberty and justice for all" in America is a complete farce.
ReplyDeleteIf this were actually were true, all individuals would have the same access to a quality legal defense, and that is simply not the case.
For example, I was assigned a public defender [PD] when I was charged with felony animal abuse, a serious crime that I did not commit, and had absolutely no involvement in. My PD wanted me to accept a plea bargain for no other reason that she did not want to defend a complicated case. It was obvious that the priority was to clear her docket, not to defend me. If I would have accepted the plea, I would have had to accept a felony on my record. This was unacceptable, as I was innocent and. It would have had ended my career as a social worker. This did not matter to my PD. When I finally
realized that my fate had already been decided, I decided to "fire" my PD in court. I could not afford an attorney, so I represented myself. A year later, after many court appearances, i.e. missed days of work, I was found "not guilty".
The whole process would have been much less traumatizing if I could have afforded an attorney, or if the legal defense that was assigned to me had the same motivation as a retained attorney. What occurred was not justice.
About five years ago, I experienced being stopped and frisked in Manhattan for no reason reason that I can determine
except for the fact that I was with my brother, who is very dark complected, and we were window shopping at high end
stores. This was not justice.
My experiences aside, when one compares the sentencing of white and black males conducting the same crime, America appears to have a preference to incarcerate black males. In fact, the entire "system" appears to be designed to be discriminatory from the time of arrest, during incarceration, AND during rehabilitation back into society. When someone leaves prison, they are further ostracized from society when they return because of their arrest record. It is much harder to find employment. Minorities experience this more because they are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated. These discriminatory acts are the "norm", this is not justice.
Would Robert Zimmerman have been found "not guilty" if he murdered a young white male? I have to say no. Yet the result of that tragic events are upheld as "just" by the Florida court system.
The fact that corporations have the same rights as those who have "person hood", i.e. humans, to me is an indicator that our society is not a just one. The fact that Citizen United was upheld is an indicator that justice is for those who can afford it, or at least afford to hide behind the influence of money.
Three words (well a name): Sheriff Joe Arpaio. His conduct does not indicate that he has any intention to find justice through the lens of equality.
If you are in the foster care system, and you get out without picking up a record, then you would be in the minority. It has been my experience that the greatest, and potentially most detrimental outcome of being "in care" is being arrested for activities that under "normal" circumstances would result not arrest, but guidance from a caring family member. For example, a parent finds a joint in their kids room, 99% of parents are not going to call the cops on their own kid. Now if that individual is in foster care, then the cops are going be called the vast majority of the time, this is especially true if that child is a minority male. Not only is this logically insane, it is not just.
I believe the great civil libertarian, and ACLU attorney Clarence Darrow said it best:
"There is no such thing as justice--in or out of court."
I can appreciate your personal story. About Joe Arpaio...his buddy the Steven Seagal is running for sheriff here? I tell you what, Steven Seagal better not put snakes in my truck--remember that movie Fire Down Below? Celebrity actors or not...
ReplyDeleteWe need to think why young black males from lower SES communities are the target of our penal system. Instead of targeting them we need to understand why they have turned to crime. . I know drug offenses top the list of individuals who are incarcerated and believe if we made changes to this area we could see positive changes in the future for all Americans. As a society we do not handle drug charges appropriately, and we end up spending more money and continue to see repeat offenses. The biggest contributors to unfair treatment are money and prejudice. We see time and time again in the media how people with money and the opportunity to get good lawyers end up with lower sentences or punishments. Not all Americans have access to the same level of legal defense. Some people can afford to pay lawyers who will fight and care about their case more than a public defender because of the pay they receive. I have personally witnessed a public defender do more damage to a case. Unfortunately there is also the social issue of prejudice. White people in America have more privilege and opportunity therefore have a lower chance of ending up in prison.
ReplyDelete