Politics and Social Values

But they're criminals...

The popular thought about people on community supervision and who are in jail is that they are criminals. This leads to the justification of the stripping of rights and freedoms granted to the public. In cases that involve violent crimes and harmful behavior, keeping the people away from the public seems like a brilliant idea. The problem comes when harmless criminals are put in the same category as these threatening people.

Politics

Marijuana is an illegal substance that is costing America millions each year. 1.6% of all inmates are being held for cases ONLY pertaining to marijuana. If we legalized this substance, taxpayers would save A LOT of money but there is a problem with that idea. It is immoral. Or is it? Tobacco companies have spent billions of dollars to make us think this and to keep the carcinogens in cigarettes acceptable. Politics. Who ever has money, has power. This principle can also be applied to the prison system in which minority groups are over represented.

Want to learn more about marijuana and prison?

http://www.dfwnorml.org/forum/marijuana-and-law/prison-statistics-and-cost-marijuana-related-offenders-533.html

Social Values

From an early age, social values are reinforced by the world around us. This comes from movies, TV shows, political leaders, and our friends and family. We mimic what we see. It is these media images of angry, dangerous black men that instill fear in the white population. Although these images in no way portray what is actually happening, we act on the fear. The racial disparities in prison compared to the American population is evidence for this claim.

 

Conclusion

It seems like the flaws in these systems go further than the treatment and rehabilitation of the people in them. There are societal influences that make it seem impossible to have complete fairness. With this flaw in mind, we must remember to treat this population with respect because their situation does not always mean they are dangerous and we should make sure that we do not treat everyone like this. There is a HUGE difference between a serial killer and a kid who got caught with marijuana. It is this idea of disparities that lead to the creation of the community supervision program.