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America’s prison system is rigged.

A blog by Alexia DeLeo and Isabella Marchiselli

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Prisoner

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Being Born in the Prison System

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WU608Z2678 49:12 - 50:12

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School to Prison Pipeline

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School to prison pipeline is the disproportionate tendency of minors and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to become incarcerated, because of increasingly harsh school and municipal policies.

So what this does is push minority students out of schools and into prisons

Two main factors:

Zero tolerance policies- policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules, while cops in schools lead to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school
School disciplinary practices-

Some options to dismantle it:

Create a positive climate and focus on prevention
Develope clear, appropriate, and consistent expectations and consequences to address disruptive student behavior (improve behavior, increase engagement, boost achievements)
Ensure fairness, equity, and continuous improvement.

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Who’s getting arrested?

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👨🏿

👱🏻‍♂️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WU608Z2678 18:06 - 18:42

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ALEC

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Forced Labor in America

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Now we’re out… for a little

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Now we’re REALLY out … and it doesn’t matter

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“The National Employment Law Project (NELP) says one-in-four Americans have arrests or convictions on their records, blemishes that might hinder them in the competition to find work. These records could be for minor offenses, mistaken arrests, or for serious crimes. But, regardless of the details, they have a negative effect on the person’s ability to stay out of trouble and earn an income.

More than 700,000 are released from prisons every single year. Not all of these people are worth the stigma that is attached to them the minute they step outside of the prison walls. Many of them are focused and determined to make a life as an upstanding citizen—many of them were doing just that before their run-in with the law.

Employment is said to be one of the main barriers for ex-offenders, and one of the most important factors that keeps people from reoffending. Anything we can do to level the playing field is a step in the right direction.”

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Summary

Your likelihood of going to prison is basically predetermined.
The funding of private prisons strips and dehumanizes inmates of their identity.
After prison, inmates have a hard time assimilating back to civilian life due to the stigma surrounding them.

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sources

13th - documentary

https://www.sentencingproject.org/ - website

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2019/may/3/long-term-recidivism-studies-show-high-arrest-rates/ - article

https://phys.org/news/2018-10-black-men-higher-recidivism-factors.html - study

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35263313/ns/business-careers/t/unable-get-jobs-freed-inmates-return-jail/#.Xdb2j5JKhPM - news article

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/criminal-justice/reports/2018/06/27/452819/ending-war-drugs-numbers/ - article

https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline/school-prison-pipeline-infographic - infographic

https://www.naccho.org/uploads/downloadable-resources/16-05-Health-Equity-Mass-Incarceration-and-Structural-Racism.pdf - article

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recidivism - defnition

https://www.myminnesotadefenselawyer.com/minnesota-bans-employment-questionnaires-that-ask-about-criminal-convictions/ - article

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