What I Need to Know
My essential question is: What is the relationship between crime and poverty, and how does the legal system prevent recidivism?
Criminals. Society despises them. Behind the bars and sometimes frightening tattoos lies a person, just like anyone else. I grew up turning on the news and seeing Casey Anthony, but while the country was busy hating her, I didn't make up my own verdict as to whether or not she was guilty of fatally harming her daughter. Although sometimes it feels like justice isn't served, everyone deserves a fair trial. The circumstances in which someone ends up in prison, though, isn't always fair. Too often I read about statistics that place the marginalized in society, such as people of color and low income, as people that have a higher likelihood of committing a crime. Why is this?
The film "The Blind Slide" pops into my head when I think about prison statistics. Unfortunate circumstances place some people at higher-risk for criminalization. Think about it. Michael Oher, the movie's protagonist, beat the odds and escaped a life of poverty, drugs and consequently crime. Many people are not as fortunate, so the boy who grows up in the projects without a father is at a greater risk to commit a crime— at least that's what I assumed.
A woman desperately watches as her son takes the stand. A young man explains his life's difficulties to a judge. These are images that I've seen at the courthouse, where I watch public defenders defend their clients. Because these clients are low-income, they are assigned to public defenders. I was therefore eager to learn if there was a relationship between poverty and crime and wondered how the legal system prevents recidivism, the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
The film "The Blind Slide" pops into my head when I think about prison statistics. Unfortunate circumstances place some people at higher-risk for criminalization. Think about it. Michael Oher, the movie's protagonist, beat the odds and escaped a life of poverty, drugs and consequently crime. Many people are not as fortunate, so the boy who grows up in the projects without a father is at a greater risk to commit a crime— at least that's what I assumed.
A woman desperately watches as her son takes the stand. A young man explains his life's difficulties to a judge. These are images that I've seen at the courthouse, where I watch public defenders defend their clients. Because these clients are low-income, they are assigned to public defenders. I was therefore eager to learn if there was a relationship between poverty and crime and wondered how the legal system prevents recidivism, the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
What I Know or Assume
It is easy to judge a book by its cover, so before beginning my mentorship I had a negative view of criminals. Into my internship, I learned that these offenders came from disadvantaged backgrounds, and I was able to view them from a sympathetic perspective. My new knowledge trumped my previous assumption.
I knew that the public defender's client base was largely poor and drug-addicted, so I thought that these people would commit the same offenses once they were released from jail. I was unaware of any steps the court would take to help offenders. I believed that there was an obvious correlation between poverty and crime, and I was unaware of any other factors; it was one of those "obvious" assumptions. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and I knew that this fact was not necessarily a good one. It was important that I researched why the U.S. had such a high incarceration rate and what efforts were being made to reduce it.
I knew that the public defender's client base was largely poor and drug-addicted, so I thought that these people would commit the same offenses once they were released from jail. I was unaware of any steps the court would take to help offenders. I believed that there was an obvious correlation between poverty and crime, and I was unaware of any other factors; it was one of those "obvious" assumptions. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and I knew that this fact was not necessarily a good one. It was important that I researched why the U.S. had such a high incarceration rate and what efforts were being made to reduce it.
The Search
To answer my essential question, I researched articles and studies from trustworthy sources and interviewed an attorney. These sources gave me greater insight into poverty, crime and rehabilitation in the legal system. The attorney, Ms. Seibert, discussed the role that enforcement plays in increasing the likelihood that a poor person will be arrested, and I learned that multiple factors must contribute to the issue of poverty and crime. For example, many college students will engage in illegal activities such as underage drinking and drug usage, but rarely have I seen these people in court; police often patrol areas known for drug abuse, and many of these areas happen to be low-income. What I found was shocking: the criminalization of poverty.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury," but today's system is more of a system of plea bargaining, meaning that the defendant and prosecutor come to an agreement in which the defendant agrees to plea guilty and in return receives a lighter sentencing (Black's Law Dictionary.) Over 90% of defendants plead guilty (New York Times), and a large number of those defendants happen to be poor and often believe that the system works against them instead of for them. Bias does exist in my sources since the area can become political at times, but I double-check from other a variety of sources to pinpoint how accurate a statement or figure is.
I shockingly discovered that what exists is the criminalization of poverty. Modern-day debtors' prisons exist in the county although it is illegal, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics cited examples across the country, such as in Ferguson, MO, where police had charged outrageous fines for things like jaywalking; this hurts poor people who are put into prison and unable to meet pay the fines. It perpetuates the cycle of mass incarceration and poverty.
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world (PrisonStudies.org), so how does the legal system prevent the likelihood that a convicted person will reoffend (recidivism)? I've attended Hall County's Help Court, which helps people end their addictions; the county does a wonderful job with this. It varies by state and county, and Ms. Seibert explained this to me in the interview.
Researching my essential question made me more aware of the complexities that exist in the justice system.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury," but today's system is more of a system of plea bargaining, meaning that the defendant and prosecutor come to an agreement in which the defendant agrees to plea guilty and in return receives a lighter sentencing (Black's Law Dictionary.) Over 90% of defendants plead guilty (New York Times), and a large number of those defendants happen to be poor and often believe that the system works against them instead of for them. Bias does exist in my sources since the area can become political at times, but I double-check from other a variety of sources to pinpoint how accurate a statement or figure is.
I shockingly discovered that what exists is the criminalization of poverty. Modern-day debtors' prisons exist in the county although it is illegal, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics cited examples across the country, such as in Ferguson, MO, where police had charged outrageous fines for things like jaywalking; this hurts poor people who are put into prison and unable to meet pay the fines. It perpetuates the cycle of mass incarceration and poverty.
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world (PrisonStudies.org), so how does the legal system prevent the likelihood that a convicted person will reoffend (recidivism)? I've attended Hall County's Help Court, which helps people end their addictions; the county does a wonderful job with this. It varies by state and county, and Ms. Seibert explained this to me in the interview.
Researching my essential question made me more aware of the complexities that exist in the justice system.
The Discovery & Reflection
I honestly assumed that the justice system in the U.S. was great and while it is much better than in other countries, I found that there are still many issues that need to be resolved. Many poor defendants have been victim to injustice because of the circumstances they live in, and it has become easier to plead guilty than to fight in a trial... what if the verdict is guilty? The stakes are much more higher, and for people living in poverty, many feel like the odds must be staked against them. I'm overwhelmed by the wonderful knowledge I have gained during my mentorship, and now I'm interested in criminal justice reform and lessening the gap between being poor but innocent and affluent but guilty. Numbers, whether that be statistics or fiscal spending, impact how the justice system is viewed, and the people in question have their lives impacted because of this. With more awareness, hopefully the future will see reform and a healthier prison population.