War on Drugs 7

War on Drugs 7

WAR ON DRUGS The War on Drugs has made an impact on the judicial system. Some of the ways it has impacted It is, prison overcrowding, racial implications or unfairness, stress on the court systems, and the Overload of work to Public defenders. The impact on the prisons being overcrowded is astonishing. According to the FDRS (Federal Debt Relief system), 59.6% of prisoners are from the War on Drugs. With this being the case, the prisons are being ran in an inhumane way. Some prisons are putting two to three prisoners in a cell designed for only one person. The opportunities for inmates to participate in self-improvement and rehabilitation programs, such as academic, employment and vocational training have been cut in half. When the inmates are released the rate of them going back to the life they had is very high. Making repeat offenders causing a lot of the prison overcrowding issues. These inmates are being thrown into prison with little means of learning how to be successful on the outside. Therefore they usually go back to selling drugs or buying them. Local, state, and federal police have to show progress in the War on Drugs. This means they are under pressure to pursue more arrests and convictions. These officers find themselves in already disadvantaged low-income neighborhoods that mainly consist of the poor and blacks. This ultimate predictable outcome is the rise in black arrests and incarcerations. (Legal Scholar Michael Tonry, 1995) The black prison population in 2004 was 43% compared to white non-Hispanic of 37%. Criminologist Alfred Blumstein documented between 1980-2000 the incarceration rate of blacks tripled. It was evident the War on Drugs had a great affect on black Americans especially black males. (1) War on Drugs has put stress on the court systems any many different ways. Judge Juan Torruella said “The war on drugs has been expensive and largely ineffective. We must ask ourselves which imposes more cost to society- permitting them or...

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