Schmidt 1

ass Incarceration in the United States is higher than any other country
in the world. Every day, more and more people are being thrown into
prisons and being held as inmates for years. Thomas P. Bonczar, who
did a statistic with the Bureau of Justice Statistics, says, At yearend

2001, over 5.6 million U.S. adults had ever served time in State or Federal prison. There are
some who are not given the same chance as others. Over the years, mass incarceration has
become a big problem in the United States, especially in regards to areas of colored people.
Mass incarceration is a problem that has arisen in the United States, the US needs to come up
with some solutions to help reduce the numbers; two solutions being posed in this paper are:
prisons acting more like schools, and reducing the number of people already in prisons.

Schmidt 2
Mass incarceration has been a problem in the United States for many years. People
become incarcerated and then come back into society and cannot keep up with the new ways of
life; this is especially true of people of color. People of other ethnicities have a much greater
chance of being imprisoned
sometime in their lives. Of adults

in

2001 who had ever served time in

prison, nearly as many were black
(2,166,000) as were white
(2,203,000). An estimated 997,000
were Hispanic (Bonczar). From
this statistic, it is clear that there are many more Hispanics incarcerated than any other ethnicity
in the United States. Sine this statistic was taken in 2001, the number of blacks in prison has also
gone way up.
The history of African-Americans being imprisoned goes back to when they were treated
as slaves before the Civil War. They were treated very poorly, and were only around to help make
life easier for the white people. Ever since they have been in America, they have been treated
differently. Colored people have not been given the same amount of respect as white people in
the United States. During the Civil War, they were looked down upon and still to this day have
that mark on them. It is said the one out of every six African Americans will end up in prison
during some point in their life. After the Civil War, there were laws know as the Jim Crow
Laws. Jim Crow law, in U.S. history, [was] any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in
the South between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the civil rights
movement in the 1950s (Urofsky). These Laws are still seen in society today.

Schmidt 3

There are many incidents in history,

was sitting on the bus and someone came

even after the Civil War, that show that

and asked her to move to the back because

white people do not show as much respect as

she was an African-American. She refused

they should to black people. One example of

to give up her seat and it caused a situation

this deals with a man named, Homer Plessy.

which escalated quickly. Police were called

Homer was an African-American man, but

and she was arrested for not giving her seat

still a citizen of the United States. Homer

up to the white person. This situation

had bought a train ticket to Covington.

happened after the Civil War, when people

When he boarded on the train and into his

were supposed to have equal rights. Rosa

seat, someone stopped him and told him that

Parks, who was sometimes referred to as,

he would have to go back to the train car for

"the first lady of civil rights" or "the mother

the colored people. He did not move because

of the freedom movement" once said,

he said that it was the seat that he had

Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to

purchased and that he should not have to

prepare our children for what they have to

move. He was later arrested because of it.

meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.

After a night in jail, Plessy appeared in

criminal court before Judge John Howard

This is a photo of
Rosa Parks when
she was arrested in
1955.

Ferguson to answer charges of violating the

Other
Separate Car Act (Urofsky).
colored people are coming to the United
Another example of this is the story
States and getting a bad reputation because
of Rosa Parks. Most people are familiar with
some are here illegally. Since the people of
the story of what happened with her. She

Schmidt 4
color have been given a bad reputation, it is

The prison population in 2012 was almost

hard for them to not do something wrong.

ten times the average prison population

Even if it may not be that bad for the

from the post-war era (1945-1973). There

white person to do, if a person of color does

was also a rise in incarceration in 1986 when

the same thing, it is made into a huge ordeal.

legislatures passed the Anti Drug Abuse

They are treated differently just because the

Act which caused harsher sentences for

color of their skin is different than most

crack cocaine also helped to load the penal

Americans. Over the years, the amount of

system with black prisoners. Blacks and

colored people in prisons has gone up. Over

whites appear to use and sell drugs at similar

60 percent of all inmates are colored, even

rates, yet blacks are considerably more

though they only make up about 30 percent

likely to be arrested and to serve time in

of the United States population.

prison for drug offenses (Hymdwitz). It is

The use of drugs plays a big role as

to why a lot of people are in prisons. People
get involved with things like drugs and

clear to see that blacks and whites are

looked at as equal by some police officials.
And since 2012, the numbers just

cannot find a way to get away from it.

seem to keep going up. Today, there are

According to an article entitled, The

some 2.2 million people in the United

History of Mass incarceration in the USin

States who are incarcerated. According to

One Chart by Daily Kos, the

The Sentencing Project, [Prisons have

phenomenon of mass incarceration began to

seen] a 500% increase over the past thirty

take off in 1973 with the "War on Drugs,"

years. The numbers continue to rise today

ballooning in the subsequent decades under

and will continue to rise in the future,

Reagan, Clinton, and both Bush presidents.

especially in regards to people of different

Schmidt 5
ethnicity. Incarceration rates for white and

them to make the transition from prison to

Hispanic men almost tripled between 1960

society. A book written by, Devah Pager,

and 2010. Today, 63 percent of inmates are

called, Marked; Race, Crime, and Finding

white and Hispanic (Hymdwitz). This is a

Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration, talks

problem that will keep increasing in the

about how when people are released from

United States.

prison they are left with this mark that

defines who they are. The book also
mentioned that Pager did a study that, sadly,
the race of a person does not matter when
they are trying to find work. The study done
by Pager concluded that a white man
straight of prison had the same chance as an
African-American man who had no criminal
record. This makes it even harder for an
African-American man to try to reset his life
with a fresh start, if they are automatically
given an unfair disadvantage.
How are people of color supposed to

This graph was taken from The Sentencing

Project website, and shows the rise in the
prison population from 1925-2013.
When people are released from
prisons, they often do not have money and
have no place to live. It is very hard for

fit back in with the rest of society when they

are not given the same opportunities? They
often fall back into the bad ways of life
because they have no other choice of what to
do with their lives. There have been cases

Schmidt 6
where people in prisons are inmates who

getting a job again is very low. People do

have been there before and continue to make

not want to hire a person who has any sort of

the same mistakes. On average, white men

criminal record behind them.

spend on average 0.33 years imprisoned and

People of color should get the same

2.31 years marked(Patterson & Wildeman).

rights that white people should get. The only

Whereas for the African-Americans, on

time that it would be acceptable to do

average, black men spend on average

otherwise is when the person is not a United

1.79 years imprisoned and 11.14 years

States citizen and is here illegally in the first

marked (Patterson & Wildeman). African-

place. The number of colored people in

American men are marked a lot longer

prisons is extremely high, and the way they

than the average white man. This is a crazy

have to live their lives after being released is

stat that proves the point that whites and

not going to help them to change their ways.

African-Americans are not treated the same

Yes, newly released inmates should be

in the American society. The average

marked for a little while, but after a while

African-American man spends about one-

whether white, black, or blue, they should

seventh of their working life in prison. Plus,

all be given a clean slate and be able to

after getting out of prison, the chance of

prove themselves in society.

One solution to the problem would

job and make a living on their own. They

be to have prisons act as schools. The

would be able to fit back in with the rest of

inmates learn different skills that they can

society if they kept up to date with all the

use later in life when released from prison. It

changes that people outside of prisons see

would help them to someday be able to get a

every day. Inmates are all assigned different

Schmidt 7
jobs, but a lot of the time the jobs do not

making mistakes and, therefore, having to be

benefit then in any way. Criminals are not

behind bars.

learning anything in prison or are not likely

Westervelt did some research and

to want to change their ways. (Petersilia,

said, What we found was that, if an

paraphrase) They return to society without a

individual participates in any type of

plan, without money, and without a good

correctional education program whether

reputation.

it be adult basic ed, GED preparation,

In July of 2015, President Obama

college education or vocational training

was working to get better education in

they had a 13 percentage point reduction in

prisons. The goal is to test the effectiveness

their risk of being re-incarcerated... And for

of higher education programs for a U.S.

those that participated in post-secondary

prison

education programs college programs

their reduction in risk of re-incarceration
was 16 percentage points. When talking
about people in the millions being
incarcerated, 13 and 16 percent are a huge

population that has grown dramatically

amount of people not going back to prisons!

There's strong evidence that a range of

prison education programs help reduce
recidivism and improve a prisoner's chances
of thriving once released (Westervelt). This
would be huge in the United States, where it
is often seen that it is the same people

Having prisons act like schools

would benefit everyone in society. Those
people, who may have not been able to

Schmidt 8
attend college, are now given the

The Governor of New York, is

opportunity to change their lives and take

quoted in an article written by Jesse Saffron,

advantage of the situation. They are given a

Free College for Prison Inmates. Cuomo

chance to change the path their life is on,

says, Since the annual cost-per-inmate is

and are able to gain the skills necessary to

$60,000, the governor argued, the $5,000

get a job in society like the rest of the

required to educate one inmate is a small

population. This is similar to the relationship

price to pay for a huge future return. He is

that Christians have with God, all people are

ultimately saying that because of the result

sinners and God showed us a new path,

that comes out of having education in

where believers could turn their lives

prisons, it is fine that the cost goes up

around. Just like the Bible is used to teach

$5,000. If it is something that is going to

believers how to stay on the path, so to

help the number of people incarcerated

education is prisons could help inmates stay

become lower, than it is something the

on the straight path in life.

United States should look more seriously at.

A second solution to help this

of people incarcerated went down, the

problem in the United States is so re-

government would obviously not have to put

evaluate where to draw the line as to how

as much into the prisons and prison systems.

really needs to be in prison for a long period

There are two main ways that the prison

of time. Prisons are expensive, and the more

systems can be reduced.

the numbers grow, the more money that is

going to have to go into them. If the number

The first way that the United States

could reduce prison numbers is that they

Schmidt 9
could lower the amount of people that they

who are in prisons and see if there is any

incarcerate in the first place. Without hurting

change in their behavior. If inmates have

the general public, there are people in

shown over time that they have changed

prisons who will not hurt anybody anymore

from their ways and are now ready to be

than any other person would. Instead of

with the rest of society, then they should be

putting in prison all criminals, the United

let go. This would also help to lower the

States would use the prisons just for those

imprisonment rate because those who are in

inmates who are a threat to the citizens of

prison, but have now become better people

the United States. There are some people

would be let go earlier than originally

who are incarcerated, yet they would never

expected. It is already being seen today that

hurt anybody, but are in prison for

prisoners are being released because prisons

something that they did that was against the

are running out of room to put all the people.

law. Yes, someone may be addicted to drugs,

The graph shows that there are people in

but many for something like that they do not

prisons for crimes that are violent, but there

necessarily have to be put into a prison.

are also a lot of people in prisons for non-

The second was to reduce the

number of prisoners is to look at the people

violent crimes.

Schmidt 10

who have also been incarcerated. The United

The United States has more people

States could give an education to prisoners,

incarcerated than any other country in the

or they could re-evaluate who is actually in

United States, yet our population is not as

the prison systems. In an article called,

high as other countries. Colored people are

Unwinding Mass Incarceration, the

given an unfair disadvantage and are not

given the same respect as the white people

Schmidt 11
author, Lobuglio talks about how he thinks

As Christians, we should care about these

that the United States should use a method

people in prisons and want them to get on

that the state of Massachusetts uses in that,

the straight path in life. A way for us to do

criminal histories revealed to potential

this is to go into the prisons and talk to

employers at 10 years for felony convictions

people. Tell them that Jesus does not care

and five years for misdemeanors.

what they may have done in their past. If

they confess their sins and proclaim Jesus as
their Savior, they will be in heaven with all
the other believers. We are assured of this in
Romans chapter 10, verse nine, where is
says, If you declare with your mouth,
"Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. Maybe you are a person who
does not think that they could actually go
into a prison to talk to people, send a letter
and become a pen pal with a person that is in
prison.
Another suggestion that might be
something easy for a Christian to do, is to
try to help people who are just out of prison,
find a job. Be a friend to them, they are just
coming out of prison so there is a never high

Schmidt 12
chance that they are not going to have a lot

every year. There are some who have really

of friends. It will make is easier for them to

changed, but are still in prison and will

stay out of trouble when they have a

continue to be until something changes.

Christian friend, helping them to stay out of

Prisons should offer education to inmates to

the situation that they were in to get into

help make an easier adjustment back into

prison in the first place.

society when they are released. This would

Mass incarceration is a big problem

help improve their chances of being able to

in the United States and will continue to

one day have a job and maybe support a

grow if something is not done about the

family.

number or people being put behind bars

Works Cited
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Justice Statistics (BJS) - Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001.
N.p., 17 Aug. 2003. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Hymowitz, Kay. "The Breakdown of the Black Family." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company,
4 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees. "The History of Mass Incarcertion in the US." Daily Kos.
N.p., 24 July 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Lobuglio, Stefan F, and Anne Morrison Piehl. "Unwinding Mass Incarceration." Issues in
Science and Technology Vol. 32.Issue 1 (2015): P56-61. Print.
Pager, Devah. Marked; Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration.
Chicago: U of Chicago, 2007. Print.
Patterson, Evelyn J, and Christopher Wildeman. "Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course
Revisited: Cumulative Years Spend Imprisoned and Marked for Working-age Black
and White Men." Social Science Research Vol. 53 (2015): P325-337. Print.
Petersilia, Joan. "Prisons Can Be Cages or Schools." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 16
Oct. 2005. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
Saffron, Jesse. "Free College for Prison Inmates." National Review Online. 28 Feb. 2014. Web.
29 Nov. 2015.
The Sentencing Project. "The Sentencing Project News - Incarceration." The Sentencing Project
News - Incarceration. N.p., 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Urofsky, Melvin I. "Jim Crow Law | United States [1877-1954]." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 29 Nov. 2015
Westervelt, Eric. "Measuring The Power Of A Prison Education." NPR. NPR, 31 July 2015.

Web. 29 Nov. 2015.