The American Population Is Overwhelmingly Uninformed About

The American population is overwhelmingly uninformed about the inner workings of the justice system. If the average American was privy to the harsh reality of the injustices suffered by the exorbitant prison population and the shortcomings of the justice system, I suspect a large portion of the population would support prison reform. Indeed, recently there has been major public discourse regarding the justice system. This discourse, among other reasons, made me personally invested in the flaws of the criminal justice system. I am aware of America’s mass incarceration, and that there are legitimate arguments to reduce the prison population. One of the most frequently used argument is that it is too expensive to maintain such a high†¦show more content†¦Given the number of individuals imprisoned in America, one would think that U.S. had a disproportionately high crime rate. However, the world’s leading incarceration rate is not matched with the world’s highest crime rate. Additional information reinforces the idea that U.S. creates criminal offenders by creating harsh sentencing for a myriad of light offenses, including nonviolent and drug offenders, and keeps them in prison longer. With the exception of homicide, US crime rates are comparable to other European countries with much lower incarceration rates. I chose this topic because although it s quite broad it is universal in the sense that it affects all Americans. In this country, many feel as though the purpose of the criminal justice system is to punish, not counsel, offenders. Although prisons do exist primarily for the purpose of punishment, the punishment must be equated to the crime. Furthermore, prisons have another important aim: they have to make progress towards reducing re-offending by rehabilitative programs and purposeful work. Many Americans think that putting criminals in prison leads to a safer and more productive society, but there are many fallacies in this argument. Moreover, making it worse, more that 60 percent of Americans are against social reform. Researchers attribute this antipathy to social reform to the intransigence of American, who think that once a crook, always a crook.Show MoreRelatedThe President Of The United States1568 Words   |  7 PagesSanders. This is the goal of the poll: to find out who the American people will support as the next President of the United States. Prior polls have fallen short in which the polls only ask participants who they would want in the Oval Office. Although this is important, it is vital to comprehend whom voters will support if their number one choice does not win. The â€Å"Who Would You Back in the Oval Office† poll seeks to address who the American people will be happy with in the White House. Most pollsRead MoreTerrorists versus Muslims1151 Words   |  5 Pagesin the U.S., may have been the start of the pressure towards defining Islam as a violent religion. 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