mass incarceration and the criminal justice system william skelton post civil war policies stop and...
DESCRIPTION
Post-Civil War Policies Con’t Vagrancy Laws: Made it a criminal offense not to work and were applied selectively to blacks. Often required written proof of having had a job Convict Laws: Allowed for the hiring-out of county prisoners to plantation owners and private companies These prisoners would work for little or no payTRANSCRIPT
Mass Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System
William Skelton
•Post Civil War Policies•Stop and Search •Drug War and Mass Incarceration•Leadership
What were some Post-Civil War Policies?
• Black Codes: Adopted by Southern legislatures because whites felt black people were lazy and unwilling to work
Post-Civil War Policies Con’t• Vagrancy Laws: Made it a criminal offense not to
work and were applied selectively to blacks.• Often required written proof of having had a job
• Convict Laws: Allowed for the hiring-out of county prisoners to plantation owners and private companies• These prisoners would work for little or no pay
What is Stop and Frisk?
• Terry v. Ohio, 1968: an officer observing unusual conduct by somebody the officer reasonably believes to be dangerous and engaged in criminal activity may conduct a search of that individual• United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 1975: it is permissible for the police to use race as a factor in making decisions about which motorists to stop
Stop and Frisk Con’t• There are discrepancies regarding who is more
likely to be stopped by police officers. • Rates of those stopped and frisked seem to be
disproportionate to the population.
5
How has the Drug War impacted Incarceration
rates?• President Reagan, War on Drugs, October 1982• African Americans are put into the prison
system at disproportionate rates throughout the US
Drug War Con’t
• Drug arrests have tripled since 1980• Since the War began, 31 million people have been
arrested for drug offenses.
Tools for Mass Incarceration
• The Prison Label: Once labeled as a felon, you become seen as a second class citizen.• 3 strikes law: In California, a sentence of 25
years to life exists for those convicted of a third felony, no matter how minor.
How have leaders impacted Stop/Frisk and Mass
Incarceration?
• Reagan• Bloomberg • Lawmakers
Overview
• The Drug War has lead to grossly disproportionate rates of incarceration• Stop and Frisk laws have impacted who is seen as
criminal• Once incarcerated, even upon release, you are
seen as different and have limited opportunities.