As a consequence of the “drug war” that began in the 1980s, the U.S. prison population has skyrocketed and, despite dramatic increases in corrections spending, many prisons are now grossly overcrowded. This issue rose to the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court which has ruled that California must release or relocate more than 33,000 prisoners because prisons are so crowded as to amount to cruel and unusual punishment (source).
A recent issue of Mother Jones included a frightening exposé of the overcrowding in these prisons.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 13
m — June 3, 2011
I don't thkn it's worth attributing to action against drugs. They're illegal here too, and I've never seen anything like this. What we go have is prison sentences that last a few years at the most and a social safety net the works for most people. How can you simplify the issue like this?
Johnny H — June 3, 2011
The Drug War did play a role in driving the growth in incarceration over the last several decades, but it was not the sole causal factor. "Mass Imprisonment" was caused by a myriad of policy changes that (1) increased the likelihood of incarceration for those convicted of a crime and (2) increased the time offenders spent behind bars. While some of these laws were directed at the sale, possession, and use of drugs, most of them were not (see Wester, Punishment and Inequality in America).
Only about one third of state prisoners are incarcerated for drug-related crimes (sale or possession). Another third is locked up for property crimes (burglary, larceny, fraud), and the remainder is divided between violent and "other" crimes (see Manza and Uggen, Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy, p. 70). Thus, it is inaccurate to assert that the drug war alone is behind mass incarceration. If we legalized drugs tomorrow, we would still have a large incarcerated population. This is because harsh sentencing policies only tell half of the story.
A major force driving mass imprisonment is recidivism. Ex-offenders are poorly educated, suffer from mental health and substance abuse problems, and are ill equipped to find housing and employment after their incarceration. This is why, on average, about 2/3 of ex-offenders wind up back in prison after 3 years (see Pager, Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration). In fact, California's overcrowding problem has a lot to do with its high recidivism rate, which is the second highest in the country (see Pew Center on the States, The State of Recidivism). Thus, scaling back levels of incarceration requires (1) more lenient sentencing policies and (2) better re-entry programs for ex-offenders.
Blumenthal — June 4, 2011
***As a consequence of the “drug war” that began in the 1980s, the U.S. prison population has skyrocketed***
Reluctance to enforce border control is also a contributing factor:
" The GAO reported in March that in FY 2008, there were 27,000 illegal aliens in the state prison system for whom California was receiving partial (very partial) reimbursement from the feds. (See here, p. 30.) That’s close to the total number our black-robed rulers have ordered released. And that’s not counting the legal immigrants who’ve made themselves deportable by committing crimes.
Obviously, the federal government is complicit because of its longstanding refusal to get serious about enforcing immigration laws. But California’s state and local governments and the state’s delegation in Congress have contributed to this, through sanctuary-city policies, promotion of amnesty, resistance to mandatory E-Verify, in-state tuition for illegals, etc."
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/268024/youve-made-your-prison-bed-now-sleep-it-mark-krikorian
Meera — June 4, 2011
If you haven't, do check out the original photo essay in full. As bad as these photos are, I was most horrified by the 'cages' used to hold prisoners with mental-health issues.
Increasingly, the US seems to be failing according to every single possible measure of human rights, dignity, and justice.
Alii Silverwing — June 6, 2011
I saw those pictures and immediately thought: "Are they /stupid/?!?"
Inculcating all of those young men in those pictures to have an antagonistic relationship with authority, throwing them in with /hundreds/ of others with like minds arrested on similarly frustrating charges, and then stretching an already ridiculously overburdened system to the completely-ineffective level? Wow. Just wow.
It seems like making it less dangerous for both in-prison and out-prison communities would be a win for everyone if we arrested less people and worked on building positive environments for people to live in instead.
Links of Great Interest: Bring Amina home! — The Hathor Legacy — June 10, 2011
[...] overcrowding remains an issue in [...]
who cares — October 17, 2011
I do not feel sorry for these inmates or seeing these pictures. That is just too bad for them. Have any of you been on a naval vessel? Have you seen what sailors sleep in? Or have you been in the desert camped out in the freaking heat?! These pictures just piss me off. Those inmates should consider themselves lucky to have as much space as they do and the luxury they do considering they broke the law to be there in the first place. These inmates have televisions and air condition. Look at how much space they have! Screw that! Don’t break the law and you won’t end up there! You do the crime you do the time. As I recall it is not a privilege to be incarcerated by committing crimes. Why are American’s catering to criminals? Why are American tax payers paying for their crimes?! Where do we draw the line?
Webliography! AKA fun stuff I like on the internet « Readtainment — April 14, 2012
[...] Images shows the overcrowding of California prisons, making me grateful to have been raised as a law-abiding citizen in our prison-heavy [...]