Blog #4
The quote that I have selected for reflection #4 is from Another Stab at the Constitution. The quote that I have selected from Another Stab at the Constitution is "It should expressly prohibit mandatory sentences so that every case gets the benefit of individualized attention by a judge".
What Rachel Barlow is trying to say in this quote is that the 8th amendment of the U.S constitution is part of the problem of imprisonment in the U.S. For example, the 8th amendment bans cruel punishments against U.S citizens, but yet corporations such as the corrections corporations of America (CCA) wants the government to go for longer prison terms in order for them to make a profit. Barlow is saying that this is not physical abuse towards people being imprisoned, but it is a sort of abuse in a way because when the U.S citizens commit crimes, they should learn right from wrong by paying their deserved time to society. (Hint; The key word is DESERVED time to society). If the corporations are just taking advantage of people being in prison, how will the U.S be a better state? The people that are being imprisoned will also end up getting angry with the system and they will think that they are being put in prison for no reason instead of using the time that they are in jail to really think about turning their life around for the better.
I selected this quote because I feel like the government is letting corporations get away with abusing the system nowadays. I feel like this is the problem with our society today. People are getting shot, killed, or getting arrested for crimes they did not commit and tragic things are happening like this for what? For the corporations and the government to make a few extra bucks? I like how professor Mundaco posted on his blog about minority groups being used as victims for longer prison sentences because I think like race is also the issue here. White people or wealthy people make majority of the U.S government positions, so they are the ones allowing corporations to influence them into sentencing longer prison sentences for people who are arrested.
In addition, I think that minority groups making the majority groups of people being imprisoned in the U.S is why James Madison encourages a larger diverse America because it would be harder for the same race or class of people to be in office. More ideas would exist from all kinds of people. I also think that the quote that I selected is evidence of Madison wanting "wise property owners" to be voted for as representatives. If "wise property owners" were elected to represent the U.S, then they would know how to distribute money among the people and they would also know how to handle the property of the U.S in an honest way. The corporation that lobby i order to intensify the war on drugs are only making violence between the U.S and other countries worse. What the government needs to do is create more services that help the people imprisoned for drugs. That way the crime rate will decrease, graduation rates will increase, and a successful, but yet diverse America will emerge.
I feel as if the issue with Americas imprisonment system will never be one we are in favor of. It does not make sense that America holds roughly 25% of the worlds population, yet holds over 50% of the worlds incarcerated people in total. Nor does it make sense that black people make up about 13% of America, yet almost 40% of them are currently or have at one point been imprissoned. The 13th Amendment also relates to prisons, but there seems to have been an alternative motive behind passing this in 1865, while slavery had also been abolished the same year.
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