Mass Incarceration:

A Closer Look at The U.S. Prison Population

Diane M. Davidson

November 25, 2012

Convicted felons, they have answered to the crime, accepted their punishment,
and served their appointed time. Yet, post release, convicted felons are unable to advance
in society, finding it almost impossible to obtain employment and properly provide for
their families. Doors are constantly being closed for one reason, because of one question:
have you ever been convicted of a felony? They have paid their dues to society for the
crime which they have committed, but they will never be able to escape their mistake.
They have been labeled, and are now known as felons. With this new title they face
discrimination from many different angles.
Society will argue that if you do the crime then you should do the time. This is
absolutely true, no crime should go unpunished but, who delegates the time? Are the
crimes deserving of the punishments that are being handed out? With many prisoners
being African American, a new wave of discrimination has evolved and it is called
incarceration. This new wave is based mainly from the war on drugs brought about
during the 1980s. This war on drugs centers on low income poor neighborhoods where
poverty, inferior education, and limited job opportunities can lead to road blocks and bad
decisions. It is causing Black men to be imprisoned at an alarming rate. Imprisoned,
released and railroaded back to those same neighborhoods, where the future looks bleak.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics the total correctional population
includes all persons incarcerated, either in prison or jail. In 2009, over 7.2 million people
were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at yearend or supervised in the
community either on probation or parole. Of that 7.2 million approximately 2.5 million
men and women are imprisoned in the United States. Approximately 57% of these
prisoners are imprisoned for nonviolent offenses, with 70% of them being of a nonwhite

background.
Minorities have faced many forms of discrimination throughout their history and
many will agree that this has become a new form of discrimination.

The prison

population has increased primarily because of policy changes such as, mandatory
minimum sentencing, three strikes law, and reductions in the availability of parole or
early release. These policies were put into place as a way to protect us from violent
offenders but instead have allowed for high rates of incarcerated non-violent offenders.
The New York Times reports that the United States has 751 people in prison or
jail for every 100,000 in population. (If you count only adults, one in 100 Americans is
locked up.) The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia,
with 627 prisoners for every 100,000 people. The others have much lower rates.
England's rate is 151; Germany's is 88; and Japan's is 63.

Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require harsh, automatic prison terms for
those convicted of certain crimes, most often drug offenses. The sentence is determined
solely by the weight and type of drug, or the presence of a firearm during a felony
offense. Congress enacted mandatory minimum sentencing laws to catch drug kingpins

and deter drug sales and use. But the laws undermine the American tradition of justice by
preventing judges from fitting the punishment to the individuals role in the offense.
Because of mandatory sentencing laws, the population of prisons has soared and they are
filled with low-level, nonviolent drug law violators not the kingpins mandatory
sentences intended to apprehend.
President Obama recently passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which under the old
law, conviction for possession with intent to distribute five grams of crack cocaine and
500 grams of powder cocaine trigger the same 5-year sentence. Fifty grams of crack
cocaine and five kilograms of powder cocaine trigger the same 10-year sentence. This
created what is commonly referred to as the 100-to-1 ratio between crack and powder
cocaine. The new crack law reduces the 100-to-1 ratio to a ratio of 18-to-1. Under the
new law, 28 grams of crack triggers a 5-year mandatory minimum, and 280 grams of
crack triggers a 10-year mandatory minimum. The bill also eliminated the current 5-year
mandatory minimum for simple possession (without intent to distribute) of crack cocaine.
This new law will help to reduce any current offenders sentence and it will also make
approximately 12,000 current inmates eligible to request reduced sentences.
In a recent article by Carol Cratty of CNN, Michael Nachmanoff, federal public
defender for the Eastern District of Virginia, states: This really has been one of the great
sins on our federal criminal justice system for 20 years or more. This disparity between
the punishment for crack cocaine and powder was really unjustified.
As previously mentioned, nonviolent offenders occupy many of our prisons,
which brought me to a story featured in Cleveland Magazine. The story tells a tale of
four young black men, teenagers, that committed a string of seventeen restaurant

robberies over the course of ten months. During their crime spree no one was hurt or
injured, but it was shocking to find that together they were sentenced to over 500 years in
prison. Teenagers, sentenced to become men behind prison walls, will possibly spend the
rest of their lives there. One of the offenders was sentenced to 200-500 years. He will
not be eligible for parole until 2035 when he is 63 years old. As stated previously, no one
was hurt during these robberies, but when you are sentenced to 200 years, is this not a
death sentence? Some murderers do not receive this amount of time. Given the crime,
this appears to be cruel and unusual punishment.
I was able to conduct an interview with a young man, Jermaine Wilcox, whose is
a convicted felon. I took a small look into his charges, his conviction, his punishment,
his rehabilitation, and lastly what it means to him to be a convicted felon. In 1994, he
was convicted of a felon in possession of a firearm. Although he bought the gun legally
he was given five years in the federal penitentiary. In the following pages, I have
included a small part of our interview. It also gives you a first hand account of what
someone in this position thinks and feels.
Me: Mr. Wilcox, Id like to first thank you for meeting with me today. How is
your morning going?
Mr. Wilcox: Its going well.
Me: Great. Well, if you dont mind Id like to jump right into the business at
hand. For the record, you are a convicted felon, correct?
Mr. Wilcox: Yes I am.
Me: Were you convicted of a violent or non violent crime.
Mr. Wilcox: I must admit, a non violent crime.
Me: If you will, in detail, what were your charges and your prison sentence?

Mr. Wilcox: I was sentenced to five years in federal prison for a felon in
possession of a firearm. I purchased a gun from a store, at that time it took five
days for the background check to be completed. I left with the gun, paid for and
registered in my name. The FBI came and said that I wasnt allowed to have a
firearm. They indicted me and gave me five years. That law that convicted me
is gone now. Now when you buy a gun they do a background check right then
and there. But I did five years for it.
Me: Even though you have been released from prison and have served your given
time, do you agree that crime will forever follow you?
Mr. Wilcox: Yes.
Me: And that is because of the felony conviction that has been placed on your
record, a record that is linked to you by your name and social security number.
There is no way to have your record sealed so essentially there is no way to
escape this.
Mr. Wilcox: No, it stays until the grave. There is no way to leave it in my past.
No matter what good I do, people will judge me because of it.
Me: Are you aware that being a convicted felon certain rules and circumstances
prevent you from voting?
Mr. Wilcox: Yes I am aware of that and I think that it is quite ridiculous.
Me: How does it make you feel? Do you feel that now because of a mistake your
opinion no longer matters?
Mr. Wilcox: Yeah, I never looked at it like that. I feel like my opinion should
matter because I didnt do anything to betray my country. But, I have no say in it.
They took that right away from me because now that Im a felon, I dont matter.
Me: My research has revealed that with felonies there are certain professions that
you could never acquire such as: lawyers, doctors, or teachers. After hearing that
combined with the fact that you can no longer vote, do you feel like you are still
being punished?
Mr. Wilcox: Yeah, I didnt know that. I think its sad and very frustrating. Ill
pretty much be punished for the rest of my life.
Me: Having been released from prison did you or do you still face any difficulty
with advancing in society.
Mr. Wilcox: Yes its harder for me to advance in society because Im treated as
high risk because of my felony. People dont want to hire me and it doesnt have
to be related. I need a job where theres room for advancement, one where Im

making more than minimum wage. One where I can give my family a decent
living, but the people with those jobs dont hire people like me.
Me: Do you think our justice system is biased against the black community.
Mr. Wilcox: I dont really like to play the race card because its happening in
white communities as well. But this mandatory time came from the drug
epidemic which does focus mainly on the black communities. Were being
convicted not only as dealers but as users too. How do you imprison a drug user?
Shouldnt they be given help, not locked up? I see it everyday on TV or in the
newspaper. Some celebrity is caught with some type of drug. They go to rehab
not prison.
Me: What is your take on the sentencing guidelines?
Mr. Wilcox: They are totally a joke, they only apply to the less fortunate, the
poor. Special people are allowed to go outside of those guidelines because of
their status. For example, the rapper T.I. had the same charge as me. Felon in
possession of a firearm. He got one year and I got five. Its crazy. I mean the
exact same charge. Now you have to ask yourself, why? Because Im not a
celebrity, Im not on TV. Im just a regular guy undeserving of the breaks they cut
famous people. I already felt like the time they gave me was so crazy. I didnt
steal that gun, I bought it legally. If anything they should have confiscated it not
given me five years. And to think that law isnt even in place.
Me: It does seem a bit much for the charge.
Mr. Wilcox: You see, the problem is, that the people handing out this time dont
care. They dont care about me or you or the next man. They dont care about
what happens to me when Im released. These judges, they know what we face
when we get out, but they dont care. They playing with peoples lives and
nobody cares. Thats why you have a lot of repeat offenders because there is
nothing there for us. You cant properly provide for your family working at
Burger King. I mean seriously, am I suppose to support a home, a wife, children
on a Burger King salary? Because thats what were limited to. Minimum
wage. I grew up in poverty. A low income neighborhood. And I return to that
same neighborhood but with less chance of success because now Im a felon.
Me: During your incarceration did you receive any type of rehabilitation?
Mr. Wilcox: Well, I was able to take drafting class where I learned to design
blueprints. You have to remember that I had five years so I got pretty damn good
at it.
Me: Really? Thats amazing. But, do you feel like their so called rehabilitation
is a waste of time. Seeing as how you will probably never be hired in

anyones

architecture firm?

Mr. Wilcox: Well, I wont say its a complete waste. I mean you never know.
Somebody somewhere might just catch a break and land them a decent job with
whatever little skills they give you while youre locked up. The programs are
limited but on top of learning something it also gives you something to do.
Especially when you have nothing but time.
Me: I think that just about covers it. Thank you for letting me pick your brain. Is
there anything youd like to leave us with?
Mr. Wilcox: The system is unjust. The law should be the law and it should apply
to everyone and not be based on your social status. They need to do away
with these mandatory sentencing laws that are locking my community up.
Giving us
excessive amounts of time for petty drug cases. They need to do
something about
all these felony convictions theyre giving out that is
crippling our futures once we do get out. I am still a human being. Yes I broke
the law with purchasing a firearm, but I deserve a second chance. I dont deserve
to be treated the way I do. I have never hurt anyone I am not a violent person, but
Im treated like I murdered someone. They look at me funny and judge me. I
understand that some crimes just cant be overlooked but there needs to be some
sort of medium. This is ludicrous. I did my time. Five years, not one day less.
And even though I have been released there are still many bars in my way
blocking my advancement at every chance.
At the close of the interview this is what Mr. Wilcox had to say.
Mr. Wilcox: The system is unjust. The law should be the law and it should apply
to everyone and not be based on your social status. They need to do away
with these mandatory sentencing laws that are locking my community up.
Giving us excessive amounts of time for petty drug cases. They need to do
something about all these felony convictions theyre giving out that is crippling
our futures once we do get out. I am still a human being. Yes I broke the law
with purchasing a firearm, but I deserve a second chance. I dont deserve to be
treated the way I do. I have never hurt anyone I am not a violent person, but Im
treated like I murdered someone. They look at me funny and judge me. I
understand that some crimes just cant be overlooked but there needs to be some
sort of medium. This is ludicrous. I did my time. Five years, not one day less.
And even though I have been released there are still many bars in my way
blocking my advancement at every chance.

We discussed many things during his interview including the fact that convicted

felons are no longer allowed to vote as well as acquire certain positions such as: doctors,
lawyers, or teachers. We both agreed that even though he has served his time to society
that he is very much still being punished. It is very hard to advance forward when
something is holding you down. While in prison you are given opportunities to learn
certain skills, but as Mr. Wilcox stated, the people in hiring positions do not want to hire
you. At some point you are forced to ask yourself if your so-called rehabilitation is a
waste of time.
I think it is unjust that no matter what, this label will follow the offender for the
span of his lifetime. There is no hiding from it, it is permanently attached to you.
After speaking with Mr. Wilcox it is clear that he has a difficult struggle that he
must face, one that he and many other Black men face everyday. It is a struggle to
succeed in a race where the odds are against you. History is repeating itself in the way
that prison has now become the newest form of slavery. How do we overcome a system
that is geared to keep you down? Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, says
More African American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were
enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began. How does the Black community escape
those odds or is it a losing battle?
Statistically speaking, black families (as well as other minorities) have lower
income and of course cannot afford to live in the best of neighborhoods. Most of these
types of neighborhoods have inescapable temptations like drug dealing and gangs. A lot
of kids turn to gangs, drug dealing, and violence as a way out of poverty. Because of the
large number of Black men in prison that means there are many children left without
fathers to guide and raise them, leaving them with no stability. A Bureau of Justice

Statistics special report found that over 1.7 million children had a parent in prison in
2008, usually a father. Of those fathers, four in 10 in state or federal prisons were black.
These kids then look to gangs as father figures where the activities are not ones
where abiding by the law is a priority. It is a merry-go-round of failure with a bleak
existence and no future. They end up facing a justice system that is against them, a
system that sets in stone just how bleak their existence really is.
Although I have never been incarcerated and I am also not a convicted felon, this
topic rings close to home for me. Unfortunately these men that are being incarcerated are
my family. They are my brothers, my cousins, my uncles, and my friends. They are the
young men that I grew up with side by side in that same low income neighborhood. Even
if you do not know someone that has been affected by this situation I know that many
will agree that something has to be done about the disgrace that is going on.
The United States prison population has reached an all time high. With record
numbers of nonviolent offenders that have no history of violence. We need to assess the
goals of our sentencing guidelines because prison is not a cure for crime. Each offender
and crime is unique, and prison or jail time may not always be the most effective
response. We need to explore alternatives to incarceration instead of imprisoning these
men and throwing away the key, forgetting about them and their future in the process.
Many of these nonviolent offenders are incarcerated for drug offenses. The consequences
of these drug convictions are life long, which I believe are definitely not taken into
consideration. Although drug offenses go across racial lines, people of color are much
more likely to be prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for drug law violations than
other races. We fought once to abolish discrimination and it is time we started to fight for

it again. It is time for just equality, for rehabilitation instead of incarceration.

Works Cited
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow
New York, NY: New Press, 2005
Wilcox, Jermaine. Personal Interview. 20 November 2011
Icing the Cooler Bandits. Cleveland Magazine Feb. 2011: 33-34
Incarceration in the United States. www.wikipedia.org. n.d. Web.
28 Oct. 2011
U.S. Prison Population Dwarfs That Of Other Nations. www.nytimes.com n.d. Web
12 Nov. 2011
The Federal Prison Population. www.sentencingproject.org. n.d. Web.
12 Nov. 2011