The Negative Effects of Mass Incarceration: When it Comes to the Family Dynamics, Health, and the Communities of People of Color, does the Government Really Care?

When will it ever stop? This argument essay will try to approach this delicate topic with statistics, and the reason why I do not see these negative effects changing in my lifetime. This essay will talk about the history of mass incarceration, past and present. We will be able to see some statistics, and have a real discussion on the subject, and try to reach a viable solution to the problem. 

Mass incarceration is, and always has been, a major problem in the family dynamics for people of color, and the poor. Starting centuries ago, since the inception of America with slavery, it carried over with the Jews being taken into the concentration camps by the Nazi’s; now in modern times US prisons are being overcrowded with the black men and women, and other poor people of color. This essay will offer some solutions such as bringing back the Parole Board, J.B Pritzker granting clemency petitions, and also the governor using his executive powers, just to name a few. If some of these things could be done, it would possibly alleviate mass incarceration, and by doing the above mentioned, there would be no negative effects on the Family Dynamics, Health, and nor on the Communities of people of color, and if the Governor and legislature would take into consideration the solutions mentioned in this essay, mass incarceration could actually be stopped. 

The Government = State Attorneys, Judges, Public Defenders, and the legislature may argue that there are no disparities on the Family dynamics, health nor the communities of people of color, and even want to also make a claim that mass incarceration is their own fault. In Valerie Kaur’s See No Stranger, she states, “I thought of the black people who are told that the system of slavery and Jim Crow are sins of the past, and have no bearing on the disparities in health and income, and education and safety of black people today; that the mass incarceration of black bodies is their own fault, and that the police who kill their sons and daughters are worthy of exoneration. America does not know how to grieve black lives because doing so would mean accepting that there was never complete abolition: slavery transmuted into segregation, which morphed into discriminatory laws, and into policies that appear neutral on their face but still disparately violate people of color” (Kaur 57).

In the above quote Kaur points out of when the police kill black people’s sons and daughters, the government says that the officers should be exonerated, and it happens 90% of the time; all one has to do is pay attention to the news! We see it almost at least once or twice every other month of police killing blacks, and not being charged. “When will it even stop?” The government passes all kinds of discriminatory laws, and even the Illinois Supreme Court has taken up the constitutionality of Illinois sentencing statues on a number of occasions, since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Apprendi-v-New Jersey 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.C.T. 2348, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000). This court has been consistent in holding that IL laws are not facially constitutional; need I say more? But of course, in IL, they have the Gun Sentencing Enhancement in which is what I’m sentenced under. The Gun Enhancement actually sentences me twice for one offense, in which my crime was a one-act one crime situation. I was given 40 years for the murder, and 25 years for the use of a gun in a felony, and now we know that murder is a felony, and the language says during the commission of a felony with a gun you automatically receive 15-20-25 years. Now my offense was that, as I was walking out the door, the victim struck me from behind in the back of my head. To me, in order for this law to have been applied to me would be, if I had broken into the house, and as I was leaving, then yes it could be applied, because I would have committed the felony of breaking and entering the dwelling of another. The other IL law that is also very discriminatory is the truth in sentencing law in which they want a person to spend every day of his sentence incarcerated meaning that once I received the 65 years that I got at sentencing I would have to do every day of this sentence in which if fully served, I will be 103 years old at the time of my release; it is “Death via Numbers.” If one would take a survey of those with the two above mentioned discriminatory sentences you will see it was given to people of color more so than whites who commit the same offense. I will add this, and it goes out on the very foundation of the United States: the “13th Amendment of the U.S.C. Sec. 1 abolished slavery: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, ‘Except’ as a punishment for crime whereof of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Here we go—if a person is convicted of a crime, you can be considered as a “slave,” and this is an amendment included in one of the government’s founding documents since the inception of the U.S.A.! When will it ever stop? The truth in sentencing law is one of the many discriminatory laws in Illinois, because no matter what one does in prison to show they are rehabilitated they still have to do every day of their sentence; and this reminds me of slavery for once one was born into it, they were stuck in it for life!

Mass incarceration is and always has been a major problem in the family dynamics for people of color, and the poor. This situation started centuries ago, since the inception of America with slavery, in which had a people being kidnapped from a continent and forced into slavery on a plantation. These people were first separated from their homeland and families, and after some time has passed of being on these plantations, they may now have a spouse, and children. They are sold away from them, and they had no control over being with his or her spouse because of the Master of the planation wants to have his way with the female slave. We know from history of millions of Africans being misplaced by this form of mass incarceration, and how does one feel about the above statement? I’m a direct descendant from slavery on my maternal lineage, in which I have an actual newspaper article on one of my great-great-great-great-grandfathers named Fil = Phil as being a smart old fellow, and a property inventory bill listed of him being valued at $500.00 at 61 years old, he and his family as property of a Master Whitaker. I also have some history of family servitude under James Madison of a slave who worked in the White House, and on the plantation of James and Dolly Madison, named Cathie = Katie. 

Another form of mass incarceration altering the family dynamics was that of the Jews being taken into the Nazi Concentration Camps and forced into physical labor of all sorts. They were separated from each of their husbands and wives and children and placed in various camps throughout Europe. They were sent to gas chambers, and furnaces where they were burned alive, and others were taken to the experimental laboratories. The Nazis would also use their body parts trying to find a DNA sample that would help them create a super human being. It only lasted for several years, but the damage that was done to so many Jews, because of White Supremacy, has changed the world forever! It has been said that it was like six million Jews that were misplaced by this form of mass incarceration. 

I will now talk about the mass incarceration going on in the U.S.A. of millions of men and women of color being locked into a system by long sentences of life. This new form of “Modern Day Slavery” has broken the very fabric of the family dynamics, to their core! The nowadays lock them up and throw away the key is the new way that the U.S.A. government uses to break down the family dynamics of people of color. By this new form of mass incarceration, they keep us locked up with these astronomical sentences. This new concept, instead of us being out in the “fields picking cotton or tobacco,” is that they now warehouse us in prisons. 

In Danielle Sered’s  Until We Reckon, “The U.S.A. has nearly 5% of the population, and nearly 25% of its incarcerated people, and the number of black people incarcerated or under correctional control exceeds the total number of adults enslaved nationwide in 1861; a black boy born today has a one-in-three chance of going to prison in his lifetime” (Sered 7+8). Looking at the above percentages, let’s say a government official has stock in the prison system, and it cost like $35,000-$50,000, to house an inmate under the age of 50 per year, how much dividends will they “reap for their profit?” 

We that are incarcerated in this day and times are nothing but “hot commodities,” and this is why they keep giving out these astronomical sentences, and the attorneys assigned to handle our cases keep on half-representing us. As long as a “profit’ can be made by the government agents at the expense of black and poor people, they will continue to keep filling the prisons in order to be prosperous. Mass incarceration needs to stop, but we have seen from the past, present, and right now the billion dollar question is “does the government really care, and when will it ever stop?” By the continuation of mass incarceration of black men and women, there is really no one out there to save our youth from following our footsteps to prison, or death. Mass incarceration is here to stay for the time being, lurking with a number for its next person of color! 

Health

The government may want to argue that mass incarceration does not contribute to one’s health, and I will say that is not the truth, because I’m in my 19th full year in the prison system and to say my health has not deteriorated would be a lie. My back aches all of the time and my right shoulder, and I attribute this to the many years of not having any back support while sitting up in bed, and from the orange crush shake down in which they would have your hands cuffed behind your back for hours at a time. I also think that being in Stateville also has played a part of my health not fully as good as can be, because of the drinking of the water. The big problem is when we seek medical attention about our problems they give you the run around, and even refuse to send you out for an MRI. 

India Hilty’s newspaper article will back up my argument on health and negative effects of mass incarceration. “The negative health effects of mass incarceration are widespread and well documented. People in prisons and jails suffer from higher rates of infectious disease, chronic conditions, and mental health problems, which these facilities are often ill-equipped to address. Suicide was a leading cause of death in correctional facilities. Illinois’ lack of parole coupled with the states extreme sentencing laws made the situation even worse. Over the last four decades the number of people in prison in Illinois increased by over 500% to around 40,000. These policies have created an aging prison population. Nearly one-quarter of people currently in prison in Illinois are older than 50, compared with only 4% in 1988. The combination of an older incarcerated population overcrowding, and poor access to medical care in correctional facilities contributed to a Covid-19 death rate that was four times higher among people in prison then in Illinois general population from January 2020 to February 2021. Not only are these policies costing lives, but they also come with a high price tag. Studies estimate that states pay around $60,000 to $70,000 per year to keep each person older than 50 in prison, which is double the cost for younger people who are incarcerated. The absence of parole further exacerbates racial health inequality in Illinois black people make up 15% of the population yet account for 66% of people serving life sentences. The negative health impacts of incarceration and Illinois lack of parole have clearly fallen disproportionately on ‘Black Residents,’ long prison sentences via mass incarceration have damaging effects on health and equity.” (Hilty). Does the government really care, and when will it even stop?

Communities

The Government may want to say that you also have whites that are incarcerated, and it does not have any negative effects on their communities. As we know, for every one white inmate it is like 10-20 people of color so if we do the math of course it would not play that big of a role on their communities, but it plays a major part in the communities of people of color. The one real big difference is returning to our communities in which for black poor people of color it is way harder to get a good job because of your background as now being a convicted felon. Whites return to their communities and nine times out of ten have a job waiting for them. In India Hilty’s newspaper article, “The harms of incarceration also extend beyond prison walls. Communities and families fractured by high incarceration rates often face higher rates of poverty and mental health conditions. The costs of unsuccessful re-entry and reincarceration negatively impacts communities, families, and individuals, incarceration has disproportionately impacted minorities, primarily young black men, and individuals with low levels of education” (Hilty and Harding 2014).  “A consequence of incarceration is that relationships with families and the broaden community are strained. For communities, with high rates of removal and return of offenders, this further produces immense social and economic disadvantages” (Travis, Solomon & Waul, 2001).  “Evidence shows that the outcomes of corrections are not cost-effective and do not justify the costs to communities, families, and individuals (Hilty, Barretti & Thompson, 2016). Does the government really care, and when will it even stop?

Throughout this essay, I ask the question of does the government really care, and when will it ever stop? I will now answer the two questions. The answer to do they really care is no, especially when it comes to the negative effects that are being done to poor people of color, and yes to keeping the prisons filled with poor people of color in order to keep turning a profit off of us! When will mass incarceration ever stop? So now, let’s just say that the government has been doing all of this intentionally, causing all of these negative effects on people of color, because of being white men in power with ties to White Supremacy organizations. I think I just described the U.S. Congress and House of Representatives, and what I think needs to be done is set a limit on the number of years that they serve office, and by the way the same needs to be applied to the Supreme Court Justices also. We have too many old, white people in control of running this country, and they do not want to adopt to changing their ideology to fit this day and times agenda, nor do they seem to want to stand up for equality for all citizens of the U.S.A.

Solutions

I feel in order to have true prison reform when it comes to mass incarceration, we have to give some of us a chance who have long sentences. I liked the one recommendation that was supposed to be brought before the Governor of him using his Executive Powers, by signing the proposal that had the language in it to have everyone’s sentence be served at 50%, and to bring back the Parole Board, and have a Prisoner Review Board in play. This would really relieve the mass incarceration problem here in Illinois, and also the Governor could also grant some of the vast clemency petitions instead of denying them. How about the PRB really considering the passing of a bill which would make any person who has served at least twenty consecutive years in prison eligible to be considered for release by them, if the Illinois Legislators do their job, and pass such a bill? Oh, did you forget the Legislator is part of the government; does the government really care? Yes, because as long as the prisons stay full, and they have stock in prisons they will continue to keep them filled and for what reason? To Turn a Profit! I feel that no government official should be allowed to have stock in prisons, and for this very reason I do not see it ever being changed in my lifetime of mass incarceration, and the negative effects that come along with it on really all people, but mostly poor people of color. 

Conclusion

I do not see any viable argument that the government nor anyone else could have against what has been presented. I along with my sources have given the negative effects of mass incarceration when it comes to the family dynamics, health, and the communities on people of color, and I have shown statistics, and given solutions, and even given the history of the topic in this essay, and my reasons why I do not think it will change, because of the U.S.A Constitution, especially the 13th Amendment. Does the government really care about mass incarceration of people of color, and the negative effects that come with it? No, and Yes! No to caring about locking people of color up, and yes to keeping us in prison to keep turning a profit off of us! When will it ever stop? 

The audience for this essay would be for persons that sit on these Prisoner Review Boards, and Parole Boards, and Prison Advocates. It will be great for anyone who is interested in Prison Reform.

Works Cited

Hilty, India. This author is “a medical student at University of Chicago and a leader of Just Health: the school-led carceral health advocacy group.“ I got this article off of the day room bulletin board.  

Kaur, Valerie. See No Stranger. First Edition, One World: New York, 2020.

Sered, Danielle. Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and A Road to Repair. The New Press, 2021.

US Constitution, 13th Amendment.