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Kamesha Jackson

Ms. Vicki LeQuire

RC 2001-101

14 September 2020

A Humans Rights Approach to Criminal Justice Reform

When making an argument there should be opposing views and perspectives to make the

argument stronger. While the author's choice of language and style of writing is important, the

argument should be written about from a variety of viewpoints. The topic of criminal justice

reform is currently trending. According to both Jonathan Simon and Jeremiah Mostellar, the best

way to reform the criminal justice system is a ‘human rights approach. Jeremiah Mostellar

describes prison reform as a way to “seek to ensure public safety and restoration for those

impacted by crime through the creation of constructive prison culture.” (Mostellar 2020). There

can be many ways to change how The United States handles criminals. However, it is hard to

discern the best way.

Jonathan Simon is the writer of ​For a Human Rights Approach to Reforming the

American Penal State ​article​.​ He is also a professor of Criminal Justice Law and teaches in the

areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, criminology, legal studies, and sociology of law. The

article was also published in the Oxford University Press. The author does have opposing

arguments and a variety of reputable sources within the article. This article addresses the current

issues with the criminal justice system and proposes potential solutions.

The article was published on the 9th of August in the year 2019. The audience seems to be social

and people in power to reform the American Penal State. There are sources cited that are
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outdated, so this could potentially be a rhetorical constraint. Simon touches on how mass

incarceration is the leading result of the lack of consideration of human rights within the criminal

justice system.

The placement and organization of the article break down each of the main arguments.

Simon has three main objectives. He argues that both public policy and politics play a significant

role in the “harsh punishments of convicted crimes” (Jonathan Simon 1). Simon’s three main

arguments consist of historical conditions, economic arguments, and human rights campaigns.

The three main arguments are clear and concise. They are listed as headlines to capture the

audience’s attention and then broken down individually to explain each idea.

Jeremiah Mostellar addresses the current issues with the criminal justice system within

the article, ​Criminal Justice Reform Policy Liaison.​ Mosteller is a Policy Counsel at the Due

Process Institute. The thesis is presented at the beginning of the article and it states, “Something

must change if we are to achieve an effective justice system that protects and enhances public

safety while respecting human dignity” (Mostellar 2020). The author does have opposing

arguments and a variety of reputable sources within the article. The supporting sources cited

throughout are centered around the argument of the need for prison reform and is focused. The

article also justifies why reform is needed. The article was published on the 18th of March in the

year of 2020 and was also published by the Charles Koch Institute. The article is organized and

easy to navigate, the author presents the argument by describing the problem and potential

solutions to fix them.

The audience within the article seems to be citizens in society and also people in power.

There are no rhetorical constraints present in the article. While Mostellar does have a weaker
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argument, he does the use of statistics to convey the significance of prison reform to almost

make up for it. Mostellar argues, “It is estimated that there are more than 2.7 million children

who have parents in state and federal prisons” (Monstellar 2020). Meaning that it is important to

note the use of statistics as a strategy to help the audience understand the importance of prison

reform.

When comparing the two Simon uses strong argumentative language by including

examples and personal stories of prisoners and Mostellar focuses on his opinions only and does

not include examples. The effectiveness of both articles is strong, however, Simon’s article is

stronger than Mostellars. The first argument within Simon’s article consists of the idea that

“mass incarceration on the defensive, the most powerful argument for reforming America's

bloated penal state would appear to be economic: saving money by shrinking expensive

punishments that have no evidence-based relationship to reducing crime” (Simon 2).

This argument is supported by multiple sources throughout the article. On the other hand,

Mostellar’s argument is weaker because his ideas are stated throughout the article but not fully

supported by sources. The difference in making claims and supporting them with both opposing

and sources for prison reform helps build a stronger argument. In conclusion, the three main

arguments from Simon’s article, bringing light to the problem from different angles strengthens

the argument. Therefore Mostellars lack of opposing views weakens the argument for prison

reform and why it is important.

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Works Cited

Mostellar, Jeremiah. “Why Prison Reform Matters in America.” Charles Koch Institute, 9 Aug.

2019, www.charleskochinstitute.org/issue-areas/criminal-justice-policing-reform/why-

prison-reform-matters/.

Simon, Jonathan. “For a Human Rights Approach to Reforming the American Penal State.”

Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 11, no. 2, July 2019, pp. 346–356.