Essay On Mass Incarceration

The Injustice of Mass Incarceration
Studies have shown that over time more people are serving time in prison than ever before. Incarceration statistics are proving serious amounts of disreputable behavior from the American criminal justice system. Being incarcerated has major effects on the psyche of inmates. Mass incarceration, also known as hyperincarceration, is becoming progressively worse of an issue for minorities in the U.S., particularly African Americans and the lower class. A frequently discussed topic is the idea of the school to prison pipeline which also contributes to mass incarceration. There are economic challenges resulting from hyperincarceration. Although Americans believe that the incarceration of criminals is the best way
While behind bars, inmates go through a mental process of institutionalization. There have been many psychological effects that occur during an inmate’s sentence. Changes similar to social avoidance and emotional protection. According to Craig Haney of the University of California,“Prisoners who labor at both an emotional and behavioral level to develop a “prison mask” that is unrevealing and impenetrable risk alienation from themselves and others, may develop emotional flatness that becomes chronic and debilitating in social interaction and relationships, and find that they have created a permanent and unbridgeable distance between themselves and other people” (Haney, 2001, p. 8). The ability to interact with others is incredibly important in all aspects, especially if attempting to conduct oneself within the world outside of prison. This debilitating mask creates a much harder bridge to cross when getting attempting to live a considerably normal life after incarceration. Prisoners have to overcome considerable alterations in their lifestyle to survive both being in prison and when transitioning back to the real world. Institutionalization is more prominent in younger inmates due to their lack of individual reasoning before they are imprisoned. Charles Haney supports his point in a statement he makes: “Thus, institutionalization or prisonization renders some people so dependent on external constraints that they gradually lose the capacity to rely on internal organization and self-imposed personal limits to guide their actions and restrain their conduct. If and when this external structure is taken away, severely institutionalized persons may find that they no longer know how to do things on their own, or how to refrain from doing those things that are ultimately harmful or self- destructive” (Haney, 2001. p.7). This means inmates