The Crime Of The Criminal Justice System - 3025 Words

The criminal justice system we have today was formed by the trial and error of our society. From no rights to African Americans to equal rights to all, we no longer hold public hangings for spectacles but we as a society are still characterized for our hyper obsession with law and order. We pour billions into our police and judicial system in a hope to curb crime and this has led to the creation of a prison solution. This solution is simple when someone breaks the law you lock them away, when that doesn’t work you lock them away for a longer period. Over the decades this method combined with the so called drug war has led to the overcrowding of the prison system. As Ernest Drucker wrote there are over 7.3 million people under the control†¦show more content†¦Those who go to prison are again those that have committed crimes seen as so severe or heinous that they garner a sentence over a year such as armed robbery, rape or murder. This seems like a sensible solution, th at these people deserve to be punished for their actions. But what happens when truly criminalize minor actions such as petty drug crimes, enact mandatory sentencing or even three strike laws? This would mean that for a certain crime such as possession of marijuana you receive a year in prison. The number of people eligible for prison skyrockets and then if there is a three strike law and any of these offenders is caught three times they are shipped off for life. And what happens is society sends more people off to prison and these buildings designed to house hard criminals become overcrowded with a mix of all walks of crime. From those unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to those who have committed petty drug crimes three times too many and are sentenced to life in a prison. This leads again to overcrowding but it also means breaking up communities as drugs aren’t typically found equally in every part or society, they are usually concentrated in smaller sections typically the poorer ones. This factor holds the police and the criminal justice system target the poor society