The Amendment was modified after a 1968 US Supreme Court ruling. This is a traffic stop meant not to enforce traffic laws but to look for drugs despite the absence of evidence. It has been caused by changes in sentencing guidelines. The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration 1361 Words | 6 Pages. Accused criminals rarely go to trial. Racial … 4. Perhaps more than any other point in the book, this passage proves how arbitrary and unjust the law can be. . They simply now inhabit a world in which discrimination against them is perfectly legal in housing, employment, and public assistance. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Finally, the idea that “reasonable” people have nothing to fear from refusing to comply with the police ignores the fact that even “reasonable” encounters with police often end in arrest or violence, especially when someone refuses to comply in any way. Ta-Nehisi Coates September 24, 2014. However, thanks to changes in the way police are funded, trained, and militarized, this is far from the reality. This makes "consent searches" valuable tools for law enforcement because they are aware that very few say no to them out of obligation or fear. One way that prosecutors exercise this bargaining power is by "loading up" charges on defendants that would be hard to prove in court but which carry harsh sentences. They are also banned from receiving licenses necessary for a wide range of professions. Despite the amount of money and resources already spent on tackling drugs, and despite how many people the drug war has put behind bars, President Obama still chose to hugely increase federal spending on anti-drug efforts. This makes it impossible for public defenders to adequately defend their clients. Haley Scholars Fall 2013 Reading Groups Based on our readings of chapter 2 of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow, people mentioned being unsettled by "harsh sentencing of non-violent crimes," inadequate legal representation, and "innocents becoming caught up in the system. As long as there is still benefit to be had, the system itself will never have any incentive to end. Property could be seized even if a person wasn't charged with a crime. Web. Yet studies and data cited in Kissing Frogs reveal that most of those detained and searched are "innocent of any crime." This pressures them to plead guilty to the lesser charges. Alexander highlights one particular challenge that followed in the wake of the stop and frisk ruling: The law regarding police, searches, and Fourth Amendment rights contains many mixed messages. Meanwhile. Hi everyone, We have talked about Guantanamo Bay in class. They did not inform passengers of the right to remain silent or refuse to answer questions. This was the authority to keep any cash and assets seized. Rather than an effective solution to tackling the problem of drug crime, the War on Drugs has become a self-fulfilling cycle. Alexander tells in thorough detail just how misunderstood the ins and outs of the justice system are, particularly since the dawn of the War on Drugs. Consequently, by 2007, one in every 31 adults in America was either locked up, on probation, or on parole. It is disturbing that in a country founded on liberty and justice, these rights are granted conditionally. This Act shifted the burden of proof back to the government. Alexander posits that the design of the War on Drugs system helps to ensure that entire racial caste is created and sustained. 68% of people released from prison end up back inside within three years, normally for violating one of the many rules of probation and parole. How are racial caste systems related to the class structure of the US? By 2000 as many people returned to prison on parole violations as there were people in prison in 1980 for all reasons. Alexander ponders why, exactly, police would choose to arrest so many people for minor drug crimes. The New Jim Crow - Chapter 1: The Rebirth of Caste Summary & Analysis Michelle Alexander and Michelle McCool This Study Guide consists of approximately 27 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The New Jim Crow. This is because after being arrested, the chance of ever becoming truly free of the system again are slim. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Crime rates haven't changed—except to decline, for the most part—but changes in laws and policies have, particularly the length of prison sentences. (see Chapter 1- it may help to relate Alexander’s argument to Marx) What are some of the ways that mass incarceration keeps African Americans in a subordinated position in … As this passage shows, the success of mass incarceration depends on the confusion and fear of those who find themselves caught up in the criminal justice system, whether they are innocent or not. Alexander points out that "virtually all constitutionally protected civil liberties" have been threatened by the War on Drugs. Struggling with distance learning? Thanks to this influx of money and weaponry, the. Reducing prison terms doesn't have any impact on the lives of people already in the system, even if they are on parole or probation. It wasn't a pressing public concern and there were far more violent crimes to solve. To not plead guilty is to risk having more charges brought with harsher punishments. i.e. Despite the problems caused by mandatory sentencing, mass incarceration would not be solved by decreasing the lengths of sentences. Reliable estimates show that between two and five percent of people in prison are innocent—which translates into tens of thousands of people.
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