Fact: The prefrontal cortex of our brains is not fully developed until the age of 25. This means that people under the age of 25 are more likely to base decisions on impulse and are easily influenced by peers. Decisions are emotionally determined as logical reasoning is not achieved until the brain becomes fully developed. Due to the developing prefrontal cortex, teenagers and young adults are physiologically unable to assess risk and their long-term effects. In addition to an undeveloped brain, adolescents experience rapid hormonal growth, which also negatively impacts their decision-making and influences their engagement in risky behaviors (NCBI, 2009; 2013). Some contend that adolescence spans from age 14-24 based upon physiological brain development (NCBI, 2013). Fact: Seven million Americans are involved in the criminal justice system, whether it be through probation, parole, or imprisonment. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). Fact: Nearly 2.3 million Americans are incarcerated each year and roughly 1 million are detained in a local, state, or federal prison (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014; NAACP, 2016). Fact: The United States houses more than 20% of the world’s prison population although we only compose 5% of the total global population, making us the largest jailer in the world (ACLU, 2016). The United States is charged yearly with severe human rights violations due to the nature of its criminal justice system (World Report, 2015). Fact: African Americans constitute 1 million of the total 2.3 million people incarcerated each year (NAACP, 2016). Fact: Together, Hispanics and African Americans compose 58% of the total prison population although they only make up a quarter of the total United States population (NAACP, 2016). Hispanics constitute 22% of the total prison population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). Fact: Roughly 356,268 prison inmates are diagnosed with a severe mental illness (Washington Post, 2015) Fact: An estimated 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced, and then incarcerated as adults yearly in the United States (Campaign for Youth Justice, 2012). Fact: 26% of African American youth represent juvenile arrests, but 58% of African American youth are sentenced as adults (NAACP, 2016). Fact: Within five years, 77% of released prisoners were rearrested (National Institute of Justice, 2016). Fact: The privatization of federal prison that was initiated in the early 1980s has now made it one of the fastest growing multi-million dollar industries in the United States (Center for Global Research, 2016). Fact: Every single human being had made a mistake at one point in their life. Based upon these facts, it is clear that our prison system is in need of severe reform. Each year, The United States of America faces severe scrutiny from the United Nations and countries throughout the world due to human rights violations associated with our criminal justice system. As a cousin of someone who has been incarcerated, a social worker, and a human being that cares acutely about the welfare of all people, I am grief-stricken over these facts. Something needs to change fast and right now. We cannot continue implementing a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates people of color. We cannot continue incarcerating people in need of mental health rehabilitation. We cannot keep youth detained in adult prisons for crimes they committed as children. We must change the nature of criminal justice and its implementation in the United States. Firstly, I believe no one should be tried, sentenced, and incarcerated as an adult until they reach the age of 25 when their brains have become fully developed. Neurologically it makes no sense to consider anyone below mid-twenties as an adult since cranial development is in process and neurologically their brains lack the capacity to fully engage in logical decision-making. People before the age of 25, act on impulse and emotion; they are easily influenced by peers. Yet, 250,000 youth under the age of 18 are sentenced as adults. By failing to account for brain development in the criminal justice system, we sentence youth to life without hope or options. We expose them to prison-trauma, remove their freedom, and limit their ability to achieve healthy lives. Due to high recidivism rates, those that are released have a 77% chance of returning to prison. Those that do not return to prison, must face a life-time of stigma, PTSD, and obstacles associated with being labeled as a felon. We fail our youth through the criminal justice system. We should instead rehabilitate them. Give them a chance to grow and learn from their mistakes. What person did not make multiple mistakes as a growing adolescent? No one. Even, President Bush admitted to cocaine usage as an undergraduate student. No one is without mistakes. People diagnosed with severe mental health problems cannot receive adequate treatment for their disorders while incarcerated. If anything, their mental health problems are compounded by imprisonment. For example, although my cousin committed a crime, his actions were motivated by his mental illness. People living with addiction and others suffering from mental illness are penalized for being ill, rather than receiving necessary treatment and rehabilitation for their disorder. Clearly, racial disparities exist in our criminal justice system. It is an American tragedy that people of color are targeted by police and incarcerated at alarming rates. Who benefits? Clearly from the facts, the private and multi-million dollar prison industry benefits from these high incarceration rates. I do not believe in coincidences and find it interesting that Reagan’s War of Drugs corresponded with the privatization of U.S. prisons. How do we justify these racial disparities? We cannot justify them. We can work to change the nature of our criminal justice system and provide more opportunities in our communities for people of color. We, social workers, and people across the United States, must advocate for reformation of our criminal justice system. Instead of penalizing those that make mistakes, we should provide them with options: 1) rehabilitation, 2) access to education, 3) access to employment and adequate wages, and 4) access to treatment. Roughly two million Americans are incarcerated each year. Of that population, 356,268 are diagnosed with a severe mental illness and 250,000 youth are incarcerated as an adults. 58% of those incarcerated identify as belonging to a minority group. The facts speak for themselves. Our country is rightfully criticized for violating human rights. Collectively, social change must be activated now. Our youth depend on us to change what is wrong, correct, and protect them; not penalize them. We simply cannot afford to let them down. References: https://www.aclu.org/prison-crisis http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487 http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/documents/KeyYouthCrimeFacts.pdf http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/ http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487 http://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/pages/welcome.aspx http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-new-form-of-slavery/8289 https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/united-states https://www.hrw.org/united-states/criminal-justice http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/30/a-shocking-number-of-mentally-ill-americans-end-up-in-prisons-instead-of-psychiatric-hospitals/
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