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Corey Dunn

Professor Bowley

English 123

22 March 2018

Literature review: Prison Reform

Mass incarceration has been a major problem in the history of America that has grown to

extreme proportions. While prison was indeed designed to be a punishment for unlawful acts and

to act as a deterrent to prevent people from committing crimes in the first place, the state of the

prison system has grown on the verge of being inhumane and excessively punishing on the

people who have been placed within the prisons walls. With prisons becoming overcrowded and

State budgets being stretched to cover the cost to imprison offenders, lawmakers are forced to

make the issue of prison reform a major topic of discussion. While many offenders are currently

being incarcerated for extensive sentences for minor charges, these offenders are also creating

overcrowding on a large scale. Through the articles I have researched, it has been found by

experts that there is an agreeance on a trans-partisan front that reform is very much needed, and

many alternative measures are being debated in congress to tackle the ever-growing problem.

Currently, America has over 2.2 million people in prisons and jails more than any other

country in the world (CQ Press, 291). And the problem continues to grow with the endless

sentences for minor crimes being flooded into the court system. The number of prisoners is

projected to grow three times faster than the national population. Some States are becoming so

overcrowded, they are now faced with the dilemma of how to minimize the crowding problem.

California has become so overcrowded that in 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger created

an order to move 5,000 to 7,000 inmates to other States with more room for convicts (CQ Press,
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291). By 2011, a supreme court order was issued in California to decrease its prison population

by 40 percent in the time frame of 2 years (“A win for dignity”) The article discusses the results

of over-crowding by arguing that many problems have been faced with the dilemma. From acts

of violence to inadequate health and mental care and suicides, California has an imminent need

to reduce the numbers of offenders. The writer also expresses the idea of draconian law standards

being the cause of the over-crowding epidemic (“A win for dignity”).

National Affairs contributor Eli Lehrer described in an article titled Responsible Prison

Reform that Housing an inmate for a year can cost nearly $10,000 for a low-security inmate in a

State where corrections officers are paid modestly to more than $100,000 for maximum security

inmates in States with high prison guard salaries (24). The rate of incarceration and the result of

over-crowding has created a large spending budget that the nation has covered. The Bureau of

Justice Statistics estimated a total of nearly $50 billion has been spent on prisons and jails in

2010. (Lehrer 24). Additionally, Lehrer discusses the topic of recidivism and the Lack of success

in rehabilitation stating Although recidivism is down, most studies show that about 40% of

people who are released from prison will be re-arrested within three years. It is also suggested in

the article that since vastly more people are serving time behind bars, this pattern of high

recidivism suggests that prisons are fostering even more criminal activity (24-25).

Another major issue in the prison system is the rate of African American offenders being

incarcerated. Lehrer states that African Americans comprise of about 13% of the population, but

they make up nearly 40% of the country’s inmates. With majority of prisoners’ that are black being

big enough of a problem, in 2013 a U.S. Sentencing Commission report found that black federal

offenders served longer sentences than their white counterparts (25). Black male offenders

received sentences on average 19.1% longer than similarly situated white male offenders during
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the post report period (fiscal year 2012-2016) as they had for the prior four periods studied. (United

States Sentencing Commission 1). Evidence of racial disparity is apparent within the justice system.

The racial-ethic imbalance in the nations incarcerated population remains a troubling reality.

About 8% of African American men ages 25-39 were in state or federal custody in 2005, compared

to 1.1% of white males and 2.6% of Hispanic men (CQ Press 291).

Based upon the research conducted the professionals all are in agreeance that there are

major problems within the racial inequalities in the justice system and the overcrowding of

prisons. New York bestseller The New Jim Crow author Michelle Alexander describes the

critical issue of incarceration and how it has affected the black community. Alexander describes

that one in three young African males will serve time in prison if the current trend continues, and

in some cities more than half of all young black men are currently under correctional control- in

prison or jail, on probation, or parole (9). Jason Deparle a reporter for the New York Times

expresses how the damaging racial bias affects the black community stating that Imprisonment

does more than reflect the divides of race and class. It deepens the divides- walling off the

disadvantaged especially unskilled black men, from the promise of American life. (CQ press

291).
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The history of the shift in imprisonment shows the

severity of where the system is today. In the article from

National Affairs, Lehrer states that as a response to the crime

rate in the 1960s and ‘70s, the nations “tough on crime”

stepping up policing, increasing arrest and lengthening

sentences producing hordes of inmates. In 1979, The Bureau of

Justice Statistics reported that 314,000 people sat behind bars in

the United States. As of mid-2013 that number stood at about 2

million. With such increases in incarceration, it is evident there

has been a surge of heftier policing and sentencing policies.

During the 1970s, state and federal governments tripled the percentage of convicted felons

sentenced to confinement and doubled the length of their sentences (Clear, Austin. 307). By

increasing sentences and continuing to incarcerate people at an alarming rate are what became

the start of mass incarceration and over-crowding of prisons. Because of tough‐on‐crime policies

(i.e., Three‐Strikes legislation, “truth‐in‐sentencing” policies, and a reduced or delayed recourse

to parole), the length of imposed sentences and the average time served by prisoners in the

United States have increased substantially since the mid‐1970s (Kaizeman, Travis. 3). The surge

of incarceration rate figures reflects a nearly 500% increase in the incarceration rate during the

past three decades (National Research Council 2).

With the ever-growing problem of overcrowding, and the financial strain the states

endure as well as the inhumane and violent practices within the prison system has called for

reform to be an important discussion for lawmakers. Lehrer states that While prisons and

jails should be uncomfortable, there is no reason to allow inmates' suffering inside to be

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intolerable (2013). Lehrer goes on to add that there are several reform policies that lawmakers

need to work towards. First violence cannot be permitted behind bars. The high prevalence of

sexual violence, in particular, is the most inhumane aspect of the American prison system today.

A 2013 National Public Radio interview with Attorney Eric Holder examines the concerns of

overcrowded prisons that are facing the nation. Holder agrees in the need to ratify the problem as

he states, "The war on drugs is now 30, 40 years old, there have been a lot of unintended

consequences. There's been a decimation of certain communities, in particular communities of

color" (NPR). Lawmakers have introduced bipartisan measures that would give judges more

power to shorten prison sentences for non-violent criminals and even get rid of some mandatory

minimums altogether (NPR). By creating these measures, lawmakers would help to reduce the

minimum sentences which in turn, lowers the prison population. Additionally, to tackle the

sexual assault issue in prison, The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, created by the

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, released a major 2009 report proposing some

commonsense national standards — zero tolerance, clear reporting guidelines for inmates — that

appear to be effective in preventing sexual abuse. These need to be applied to all detention

facilities. Many congressional figures have come to the forefront and presented measures in

reform as well. Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin and Utah Republican Mike Lee — moved in that

direction. Their bill, called the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013, would give judges more

discretion to sentence nonviolent criminals below the so-called mandatory minimums. It would

also lower mandatory minimums for several drug crimes to lower costs and cut down on

crowding in a prison system that is estimated to be operating at 40 percent over capacity (NPR).

With many states taking heed to the notion of mandatory minimum reduction and prison

practices being eradicated, all mark a move in the right direction in reforming the United States
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prison system. Though, there is no argument that prisons are designed as forms of punishment

for crime, based on the professional assertation to the problem, all appear to be in agreeance that

prisons should also hold a level of humane dignity and promote positive rehabilitation which

prevents recidivism. Furthermore, the notion of mandatory minimum sentencing has been

unanimously deemed unjust practice from a trans-partisan view. Vermont Democrat Patrick

Leahy argues Doing away with mandatory minimums, giving more discretion to judges, that

shouldn't be Republican or Democrat, It just makes good sense (NPR).

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Works Cited

Alexander, Michelle, and Cornel West. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of

Colorblindness. New York: New Press, 2012. Print. Accessed 15 March 2018

"A Win for Dignity" The Economist. 26 May. 2011 33-34. web. Accessed 23 March 25, 2018

Clear, Todd R.; Austin, James. "Reducing Mass Incarceration: Implications of the Iron Law of

Prison Populations," Harvard Law & Policy Review vol. 3, no. (Summer 2009): p. 307-

324.

Crutchfield, Robert D. "Current Criminal Justice System Policy Reform Movements: The

Problem of Unintended Consequences." Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality 5.2

(2017): 5.

Johnson, Carrie. "With Holder In The Lead, Sentencing Reform Gains Momentum" npr.org

Morning Edition, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 March 2018.

Kaizeman, L. Travis, J. Forgotten Prisoners: "Imperative for Inclusion of Long Termers and
Lifers in Research and Policy" Criminology and Public Policy 14.2 (2015): 355-395

Print. 25 March 2018

Lehrer, E. "Responsible Prison Reform." National Affairs 35. (2013): 19-35. Web. 23 March

2018

National Research Council. 2014. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring

Causes and Consequences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. web. 24

March 2018

Prison Reform: "Are too many nonviolent criminals being incarcerated?" CQ Researcer by CQ

Press (2007): Web Accessed 24 March 2018. http://library.cqpress.com?cqresrre2000704

600

Gilliard, Darrell K., and Allen J. Beck. 1996. Prison and Jail Inmates, 1995. Washington, D.C.:
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Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Pew Center on the States. 2012. Time Served: The High Cost, Low Return of Longer Prison

Terms . Washington, DC: Pew Center on the States.

Austin, James, and Robyn L. Cohen. 1996. "Are Crime Rates Declining?" NCCD Focus. The

National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 1996.

Lynch, James P., and William J. Sabol. Forthcoming. "The Use of Coercive Social Control and

Changes in the Race and Class Composition of U.S. Prison Populations." The Howard

Journal.

Sloan, John J. "Three Strikes Laws." The Encyclopedia of Corrections Web. (2017).

Rasco, Ayesha. "Trump urges prison reform, not sentencing overhaul after pushback" Reuters

Web. 2018. Date accessed 9 April 2018.

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