[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.102″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.102″ inline_fonts=”Roboto Mono”]<\/p>\n
A word on the state of mass incarceration in America from the Equal Justice Initiative<\/a>‘s website:<\/p>\n The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any other nation in the world. The increase in the jail and prison population from less than\u00a0200,000<\/a>\u00a0in 1972 to\u00a02.2 million<\/a>\u00a0today has led to unprecedented prison overcrowding and put tremendous strain on state budgets. The United States has 5 percent of the world\u2019s population but nearly\u00a025 percent<\/a>\u00a0of its prisoners.<\/p>\n In the 1990s, as lawmakers campaigned to \u201cget tough on crime,\u201d America built a new prison every two weeks and still could not meet the demand for prison beds. Violent crime has fallen by more than 51 percent since 1991, and property crime has decreased by more than\u00a043 percent<\/a>. Although the crime rate has dropped steadily to about half of what it was in 1991, spending on jails and prisons reached nearly\u00a0$81 billion<\/a>\u00a0in FY 2010. Today, nearly\u00a0seven million\u00a0<\/a>people in this country are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole.<\/p>\n The politics of fear and anger fueled \u201ctough on crime\u201d policies\u2014including mandatory minimum sentences, extraordinarily harsh and racially disparate penalties for even minor drug offenses, and the explosion in life sentences without parole\u2014that led to the unprecedented and unparalleled incarceration rate in America today. Private prisons operated by for-profit corporations multiplied from five in 1998 to a hundred in 2008, and profits have increased more than 500 percent in the last 20 years, creating perverse incentives and hindering efforts to reform sentencing laws, emphasize rehabilitation goals, and reduce the prison population.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||.5|” _builder_version=”3.0.102″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.102″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.102″ inline_fonts=”Roboto Mono”]<\/p>\n Special thanks to Prison Project members Monika Wojnowski and\u00a0Devin Barkey for compiling the following information.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Still have more questions? We’d love to hear and answer them. Email lauren.e.zaylskie@vanderbilt.edu<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.102″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.102″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_accordion _builder_version=”3.0.102″][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What Do We Mean by the Criminal Justice System?” open=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em”]A: <\/strong>The criminal justice system is made up of three sectors: law enforcement, the criminal courts, and corrections. Law enforcement includes local police, the county sheriff, and federal agencies such as the FBI and DEA. Judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys make up the criminal court system. Corrections include jails, prisons, probation, and parole. <\/p>\n Police and Profiling<\/strong><\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n 1 –\u00a0Suspect Citizens: What 20 Million Traffic Stops Tell Us About Policing and Race by F. Baumgartner, D. Epp, K. Shoub<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Prosecutorial Discretion – This term refers to the power that prosecutors have in criminal cases. They decide when to press charges and what cases to bring to court. They can also offer plea deals to defendants – i.e. if the individual pleads guilty, the prosecutor will offer a shorter prison sentence.<\/strong><\/p>\n Jury Selection<\/strong><\/p>\n Sentencing Disparities<\/strong><\/p>\n Wrongful Conviction<\/strong><\/p>\n Death<\/strong> Penalty<\/strong><\/p>\n These studies are just a tiny fraction of the body of work detailing how our criminal justice system has skewed racial outcomes. One of the most discriminatory aspects of our criminal justice system is the money bail system. The purpose of bail is to ensure that defendants return to court. However, bail is often set too high by judges, which results in many defendants sitting in jail simply because they cannot afford to post bail. Those who cannot afford bail can end up in jail for weeks, months, and even years awaiting their trial. This has serious consequences such as job loss, inability to take care of children, and inability to pay rent. Additionally, people who fail to secure pretrial release are more likely to be convicted of the crime they are charged with. One study by the New York City Criminal Justice Agency found that the overall non-felony conviction rate in New York City is 58% but is 92% for those detained until disposition13<\/sup>. For felony cases, the overall conviction rate was 68%, but 87% for defendants who were detained until their disposition14<\/sup>.<\/p>\n The money bail system prioritizes profit over the pursuit of justice. Insurance companies and for-profit bail bond companies generate billions by profiting off of low-income people who have to rely on companies to secure their freedom from jail.<\/p>\n Another way that the criminal justice system punishes the poor is through the lack of adequate legal counsel. Most jurisdictions insufficiently fund their indigent (poor) defense programs. Public defenders are often burdened with excessively high caseloads and are not able to provide an adequate defense to all of those the public defender is representing.<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n 13 –\u00a0New York City Criminal Justice Agency- Pretrail Detention and Case Outcomes, Part 1: Nonefelony Cases Mary T. Phillips<\/p>\n 14 –\u00a0CJA Research Brief Bail, Detention, & Felony Case Outcomes, Mary T. Phillips Jails are typically operated by local law enforcement, such as cities and counties. Prisons are operated by the state government or federal government (Federal Bureau of Prisons).<\/span> Parole is the conditional release from prison where individuals serve the end of their sentence in the community. One can be released on parole either through a parole board decision or a mandatory part of their sentence. Individuals on parole have similar conditions to those of probationers. However, parole also functions as a method to help individuals reintegrate back into the community before the end of their sentence. If a parolee fails to comply with the conditions of his\/her parole, they may be returned to prison to complete the rest of the sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n 15 – https:\/\/www.bjs.gov\/index.cfm?ty=qa&iid=324<\/span><\/a><\/strong> The three largest private prison companies are CoreCivic, GEO Group, and Management Training Corporation.\u00a0 As of 2017<\/a>, 7.2% of state<\/span> prisoners<\/span> were held in private prisons and 15.1% of federal <\/span>prisoners<\/span> were held in private prisons<\/span>. Private prisons are mostly used for federal contracting, particularly detention centers. According to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center<\/a>, on an average day in November 2017, 71% of people in ICE custody were in held in privately operated jails<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Private prisons emerged during the 1980s, during the height of Reagan\u2019s War on Drugs, when prison populations were rising exponentially – and government facilities could not keep up. Private prisons flourished because private prison companies argued that the private sector could construct prisons more quickly and cost-effectively than the public sector, saving taxpayers money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is debate on whether or not private prisons are more cost-effective than government facilities. The reality is that private prisons cut costs to put money in the pockets of executives rather than to save taxpayers money. Private prisons on average hire fewer employees, pay, and train them less than government prisons. This results in decreased security for staff and incarcerated individuals. A 2016 report<\/a> by the Justice Department found that private prisons had more than twice as many inmate-on-staff assaults and 28% higher rate of inmate-on-inmate assaults<\/span>.\u00a0 Private prisons also cut corners by decreasing programming and often provide inadequate medical care. The conditions at private prisons have endangered the lives of countless<\/span> incarcerated people<\/span> and has even resulted in the deaths of some of them.<\/span> \u00a0CoreCivic opened in the first for-profit correctional facility in 1984 in Shelby County, Tennessee. As of 2017, its revenue is 1.7 billion USD<\/span>19<\/span>. CoreCivic currently operates<\/a> over 129 facilities<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n CoreCivic runs 4 private prisons<\/span>\u00a0in the state of Tennessee,<\/a> which houses 26% of the state\u2019s prison population as of 2017<\/a><\/span>. In comparison, the state of Tennessee runs 10 state prisons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n CoreCivic\u2019s history is marred with controversy, which led the company to rebrand from Corrections Corporation of America to CoreCivic in 2016. From its inception, the company has been continually under fire for its poor treatment of incarcerated people, inadequate medical care, understaffing and underpaying its employees, and its extensive lobbying for policies that would increase the number of incarcerated people. <\/span> Capital punishment is still legal in 30 states. There are around 2,700 people on death row. 98%<\/a> of those on death row are men, and 2% are women<\/span>. California has the highest number of individuals on death row, with 737 people on death row. However, in March 2019 the governor of California declared a moratorium (temporary prohibition) on capital punishment, which granted a temporary reprieve for all of the individuals on California\u2019s death row. As of October 2018<\/a>, Florida had 354 individuals on death row, Texas had 228 individuals on death row, and five other states had over 100 individuals on death row<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Public support for the death penalty has decreased over time. According to Gallup, public support for the death penalty in the United States peaked in 1994 with 80% of the public in favor of the death penalty. Public support<\/a> for the death penalty has decreased to 56% of the public being in favor of the practice<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Common arguments against the death penalty:<\/span><\/p>\n Common arguments for the death penalty:<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What is the status of the death penalty in Tennessee?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]The death penalty is still utilized in the state of Tennessee. Tennessee currently has 58 individuals on death row. 57 of these individuals are male, and 1 of them is female. Men on death row are housed (and executed) at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, TN. There is a special unit in Riverbend where individuals on death row are housed, known as Unit 2. Females on death row are housed<\/a> at the Tennessee Prison for Women, which is in Nashville as well<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2018, the state of Tennessee resumed executions after nearly a decade without any. Three individuals were executed in 2018<\/a>, and the state has set the execution dates for six individuals for 2019 and 2020<\/span>.<\/span>Frequently Asked Questions:<\/span><\/h2>\n
Terms and Lingo for Those Looking to Learn More<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: Is the Criminal Justice System fair? What roles does race have in the criminal justice system?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]A: <\/strong>Social science research has come to show that racial bias is present at every stage of the criminal justice system from policing and profiling, prosecutorial discretion, jury selection, sentencing, to the use of the death penalty.<\/p>\n\n
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\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: Is the Criminal Justice System fair? What role does wealth have in the criminal justice system?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]A:<\/strong> Our criminal justice system is biased against the poor, and goes hand in hand with the racial bias present in our criminal justice system.<\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What is the difference between jail and prison?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]A:\u00a0Jails house individuals after they are arrested and as they are awaiting trial as well as individuals serving time for misdemeanors. A misdemeanor is a criminal offense that has a jail term of less than one year.\u00a0 On the other hand, prisons house those convicted of a felony and are serving more than one year or are awaiting execution. Those who violate state laws are sent to state prisons and those who violate federal laws are sent to federal prison. Since prisons hold offenders for a longer period of time, they tend to have better-developed facilities that have greater programming opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What Is Probation? What Is Parole? What Is the Difference?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]A:\u00a0Probation is an alternative to incarceration where an individual is placed on supervision in the community through a probation agency\u00a0<\/span>15<\/span>. While on probation individuals need to fulfill certain conditions (like participating in treatment programs or more frequent drug testing) and follow the rules of conduct within the community (like curfew). If a probationer fails to follow the conditions of their probation, they may be incarcerated.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What Is a Private Prison? What\u2019s wrong with private prisons? ” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]A: A private prison is a correctional facility that is operated in a for-profit manner by a party other than a governmental agency. Private prisons contract with governmental entities to provide security, housing, and programs for adult offenders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What is CoreCivic? What are the ties between CoreCivic and Vanderbilt University?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America, is the first private prison corporation in the United States. CoreCivic was co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas W. Beasley, Robert Crants. And T. Don Hutto. CoreCivic received<\/a> initial investments from Vanderbilt University, from which Thomas Beasley received a law degree<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What is Capital Punishment? What are the arguments for and against the practice?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a practice sanctioned by the United States government whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for committing a crime by the state. There are a variety of crimes that are punishable by death, including treason and espionage, but most death penalty convictions are used in cases of murder with \u201caggravated circumstances\u201d (like murder involving rape or children). However, there is no crime in the United States where the mandatory punishment is the death penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\n[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Q: What is Recidivism? What makes reentry difficult?” _builder_version=”3.0.102″ title_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” title_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” body_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0em” body_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0em” open=”off”]Recidivism is the tendency for individuals who have committed crimes to reoffend once released from custody. Reoffending can include violating the terms of parole or by committing a new crime.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n