crogers19ahsgov-blog

[crogers19ahsgov-blog]

Blog Post #9: Infographic

Cullen, James. “Four Things We Can Do to End Mass Incarceration.” Improving Judicial Diversity | Brennan Center for Justice, 19 Dec. 2016, www.brennancenter.org/blog/four-things-we-can-do-end-mass-incarceration.

Cullen, James. “The History of Mass Incarceration.” Improving Judicial Diversity | Brennan Center for Justice, 20 July 2018, www.brennancenter.org/blog/history-mass-incarceration.

Jenness, Valerie. “How Much Tax Dollars Are Spent on Prisons in America?” Medium.com, Medium, 7 Aug. 2016, medium.com/@Valerie_Jenness/how-much-tax-dollars-are-spent-on-prisons-in-america-df9e40a13523.

“Mass Incarceration.” American Civil Liberties Union, Aclu, www.aclu.org/issues/smart-justice/mass-incarceration.

“Population of the United States by Race and Hispanic/Latino Origin, Census 2000 and 2010.” Infoplease, Infoplease, www.infoplease.com/us/race-population/population-united-states-race-and-hispaniclatino-origin-census-2000-and-2010.

Wagner, Peter, and Wendy Sawyer. “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2018.” States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2016 | Prison Policy Initiative, Prison Policy, 14 Mar. 2018, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html.

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Civic Action Assessment of Issue

1. I see the role of myself as a citizen in this country as someone who wants to advocate change. It is the job of all citizens to defend their rights and use them to check the government. If you see a problem, don’t just wait for someone else to fix it.

2. I learned a lot about civic responsibility this semester. I learned that citizens can get very involved in government without holding an official position. Also that citizens should get involved and they can make a huge difference.

3. I feel it is not only my civic obligation but everyone's to help do something about this issue. This is a united country and we can’t just wait for certain people to feel obligated to go out and make a difference it is everyone job because it is everyone’s problem.

4. I attended a Lafayette city counsel meeting because i wanted to become more aware of all the problem facing our town. I also was supposed to visit the 9th district court of appeals in San Francisco but sadly that had to be cancelled. 

5. I am willing to go to courts and see this problem in action. To really learn about why this problem exists and how it can be fixed.

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Executive Assessment of Issue

1. President Trump is for a strong judicial system. He wants to crack down on gang violence and drug dealers. He wants to continue to work to get violent crime to an all time low.

2. Personally I think his statements about my issue is very incorrect. He isn’t trying to clean up the streets, he is trying to put as much people in prison as possible. He is doing nothing about mass incarceration.

3. Department of Justice

4.  To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

This does relate to my issue in the sense of fair and impartial administration of justice. Mass incarceration was caused by not upholding that belief.

5.  Matthew G. Whitaker is serving as Acting Attorney General. His days are numbered because trump has already appointed a new attorney general. But Whitaker is kind of qualified to lead this department but it seems that he was more appointed in a scramble to fill the position.

6. The nation Institute of Justice would be suitable to respond to my issue. They are responsible for advancing the way we identify criminals and to make sure that we get the right people.

7.This is not a department where trump will cut funding because trump has made it clear that he is big on justice. He wants to build a border wall, he wants to keep the streets safe and he has made a ton of other promises that he isn’t upholding. So if anything i think he will increase the funding. If he did decrease funding to the department the problem would get much much much worse.

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Congressman Desaulnier: He feels that it is a problem in the country but he is focusing on other things. I could not find any legislation he sponsored on my issue.

Senator Harris: She feels strongly that mass incarceration is an issue and can be solved but again is focusing on other things. She has sponsored some legislation.

Senator Feinstein: She thinks it is a problem like the rest but has other fish to fry and is working elsewhere on other projects. I couldn't find any legislation.

2.

A. yes there are only 3

b. First Step Act  H.R.5682

c. implement reforms to the federal prison system to control corrections spending, manage the prison population, provide educational and vocational training to inmates so they can successfully re-enter society, and reduce recidivism.

d. This bill makes important reforms to the federal prison system to control costs while improving programs to reduce recidivism when prisoners are released.

e. i would vote yea because it is a great step in the right direction. 

f. the bill started in the house and was reviewed by the House Committee on the JudiciaryCrime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. Now the bill is awaiting approval from the president.

3. 

S- the subject is how there are unfair policies toward a certain race that cause mass incarceration.

A- the author is Matt Ford

C- The context is that the war on drugs is the main cause of why so many minorities are in jail and it isn’t really a war on drugs as much as a war on minorities.

A- the audience is all Americans

P- there is some left-leaning bias

S- The article wants to inform Americans of this problem because it needs to be fixed.

I agree with this article because this is a major issue and not everyone is very focused on it right now.

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State Action

Catherine Baker:

a. She believes that while our criminal justice system needs to be reformed, we still need to keep criminals off of the streets. She also says that we need to get rid of the bias we have towards a certain race. 

b. I do agree because I feel if we did this it would actually make a difference for this issue.

c. I couldn’t find any bills

Steve Glazer:

A. Glazer believes that we need to do all we can to put an end to mass incarceration.

b. I agree with this because mass incarceration is a huge problem, not only in our state but also across the whole country.

c. I couldn’t find any bills

1. AB 2988

2.September 30, 2018

3. The Bill calls addresses the criminal process and disposition of criminal evidence.

4. I do support it because it will help with making sure we put the correct person in prison.

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The Three P’s Assessment

1.

Republican:

Position: our platform emphasized restorative justice to make the victim whole and put the offender on the right path.

Agree?: I do agree with their belief to put offenders on the right path but do not agree with how they sentence people or their beliefs about the death penalty.

Democrat:

Position: Something is profoundly wrong when almost a quarter of the world’s prison population is in the United States, even though our country has less than five percent of the world’s population. We will reform mandatory minimum sentences and close private prisons and detention centers. Research and evidence, rather than slogans and sound bites, must guide criminal justice policies.

Agree?: I 100% agree with their platform on this issue.

Libertarian:

Position: They oppose the prosecutorial practice of “overcharging” in criminal prosecutions so as to avoid jury trials by intimidating defendants into accepting plea bargains.

Agree?: Forcing more people into prison time by threatening them with more is not okay.

Green:

Position: We strongly support the vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws, the aggressive prosecution of hate crimes, and the strengthening of legal services for the poor.

Agree?: I agree with their statement about my issue because they also feel that mass incarceration has a big deal to do with race.

Peace and Freedom:

Position: Decriminalize victimless activities including drug use and consensual sex. Legalize marijuana. End the "war on drugs," which is primarily directed against poor and working-class people.

Agree?: I very much agree with their statements because I find them logical and a good start.

Identify: Not surprisingly I identify most with the democratic party platform about my issue because I feel they take the most effective approach.

2.

American Civil Liberties Union:

The ACLU is committed to defending and preserving the individuals' rights

Info:

They are very liberal

Lots of cases they’ve taken on defending people’s rights

They defend everyone, not just minorities

Have been around for a while

Very successful in their work

They are currently working on bail reform and everything else involved in reforming our criminal justice system.

It is located in New York but there are many branches on the west coast.

3.

California Civil Liberties Association:

The CCLA is all about helping make sure personal rights do not get violated.

Info:

Nonprofit organization

Only work in California

Nonpartisan

Advocates for better personal rights in California

Have helped tons of Californians

They are involved with helping reform personal rights

They are located in Yuba City, California

There aren’t any volunteer opportunities nor meetings I could find.

4.

Compare: both interest groups are for the same cause. They are essentially the same in what they do and how they do it. But I would say that the ACLU is much more effective and well known on a state and national basis.

5.

I could not find a PAC relating to my issue.

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Constitutional Issues

1. Dukes v. Warden, Conn. State Prison

2.May 15, 1972

3. Petitioner's claim that his guilty plea was not voluntarily and intelligently made because of an alleged conflict of interest on the part of his counsel has no merit, and that alleged conflict of interest is therefore not a reason for vacating his plea

4. If this is constitutional

5. 4th and 5th amendments

6. 7–2 DECISION in favor of Dukes

7. that you have a right to a fair trial with a good lawyer. 

8. I agree with the court because it isn’t fair for someone's lawyer to influence where they plea guilty or not if they don’t want to. 

S: We can’t forget the fact that Trump isn’t doing anything about our criminal justice system. 

A: New York Times, Sally Q. Yates

C. Trump needs to take action

A. People of America

P. The author has a left-leaning bias

S. To bring attention to the issue.

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Media Assessment of Issue

1. Yes, U.S. locks people up at a higher rate than any other country

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-people-up-at-a-higher-rate-than-any-other-country/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.419ddb7b8700

S: America puts more people in jail than anywhere else.

A: Michelle Ye Hee Lee (Washington Post)

C: we need to fix this problem if we are going to be able to more forward being a country.

A: American citizens and lawmakers/officers

P: objective or no bias

S: Mass Incarceration is a big problem in our country and we need to do something about it.

I agree with this article because we aren’t handling this issue correctly and we need to do something about it.

2.  The City: Prison’s Grip on the Black Family

https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/geographyofpoverty-big-city

S: war on drugs and mass incarceration is a war on a certain race.

A: Trymaine Lee (MSNBC)

C: Sending blacks to prison on these minor charges has a huge effect on the black community.

A: The people

P: Liberal bias

S: This is a war on race not drugs and it is not okay that our government continues to do this.

I agree with this article and all it has to say about what this war on drugs does to blacks everywhere.

3. Why ending the war on drugs would be a huge mistake

https://mic.com/articles/73141/4-reasons-why-ending-the-war-on-drugs-would-be-a-huge-mistake#.NpNcj5I29

S: The war on drugs has its benefits

A: James Bank

C: We need hard drug laws in our country to protect our citizens.

A: Everyone

P: Conservative Bias

S: Drugs need to be stopped to clean up our country and the war on drugs it the way to do it.

I don’t agree with this article at all.

All of the articles mentioned the war on drugs and mass incarceration. Two of the articles the liberal one and the neutral one mentioned the black race as seeming to be targeted.

I identify with the MSNBC article the most because i feel that the war on drugs leads to the mass incarceration of black in our country.

[crogers19ahsgov-blog]

Conceptualizing The Issue and Assessing Types of Action

For my civic action issue I chose The war on Drugs and the Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice. This is because i feel very strongly about this issue and the effects it has on our country. This is an issue because the majority of our prisoners are minorities in our country and it seems to be that people of a certain race or skin color get harsher sentences than others in our country. Also this ties in with the War on Drugs, which is a main cause of why we have so many minorities in our prisons. I believe that we need to change our approach to the “war” on drugs and come up with a better way to combat drugs that really are harmful to people and not just all drugs. By maybe decriminalizing drugs we can then try to fix the mass incarnation. On twitter i follow @MarijuanaPolicy ‏because it is a project to end marijuana prohibition and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated similarly to alcohol. I also follow  @DrugPolicyOrg ‏because they promote drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health & human rights. I follow  @PrisonPolicy ‏ because they have done a ton of research on mass incarnation. I also follow  @Prison_Health ‏because they show us how life in prison is and how it effects not only the person in jail but also their families. I also follow  @JColeNC because he is a famous rapper that is still very involved in the Black community and consistently comments about this issue.