Comments on: Are We Beginning to Chip Away at Mass Incarceration? An Example from New York State

By: EmilyBlakeslee

EmilyBlakeslee — Sun, 04 May 2014 22:22:20 +0000

So I decided to pull-up some statistics, I was going to look at incarceration for drug crimes in Pennsylvania and make a point about marijuana use at Muhlenberg, but something more horrifying and insidious came up. I found a page provided by the PA DOC on statistics but the page is titled “corrections statistics”. I think its absurd that we are still claiming the prison system as “correcting.” I guess we are correcting Black Americans being free in the United States by locking them up?

Anyway, my larger point was going to be the class and race privilege Muhlenberg students are afforded if they choose to smoke marijuana on this campus. If campus safety really wanted to be tough on drugs here, they could be – it is often done out in the open in public outdoor spaces on campus. I often wonder if Muhlenberg students are being given the benefit of the doubt because of class and race in regards to smoking. I wonder how many Allentown residents of color are arrested for the same exact thing that Muhlenberg students are basically free to do.

By: Chelsey

Chelsey — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 14:30:01 +0000

Hi Chris, I thought this was a really great post that really left me thinking. I liked how you addressed the was on crime, and mentioned the quote, “Since the majority of inmates in New York are minorities, this is an issue that disproportionately affects unemployment in minority communities.” I agree with your comment, that it is good that minority groups were mentioned, but this could have easily been taken the wrong way. This could lead people to believe that people of color commit more crimes, and that is why they are incarcerated more. But when you think about it, white people do just as many drugs, but they may not be trading and dealing on the street as much. In terms of crack cocaine, or powder cocaine, crack cocaine is often sold more on the streets because it is cheaper, and those people are getting busted for selling a weaker version of a drug. It is the white upper class business men that do powder cocaine, and we never hear about them getting busted.

I do think this is a step in the right direction, but it is really a shame that the proposal had been dropped. I feel like Governor Andrew Cuomo had the right idea, but when he only had 53% following his plan, he had to drop it for campaign reasons. I feel like it always comes back to what will get you elected, and i wish more people saw the benefit of these plans instead of focusing on the association of blacks with crime. Most of the black or minority groups in prison were persecuted or given a harsher sentence because of there race. And I wish people could see that.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 23:20:40 +0000

This is a really interesting follow up to our conversation in class. I was upset to see that proposal had been dropped. I think you raise an interesting point, saying that 53% of New Yorkers actually supported the plan, then why was it so quickly dropped without even putting up a fight? I think it shows the fear of getting involved with the mass incarceration system. It is a complicated topic filled with many controversial issues. A major flaw of the system is the disproportionate amount of black people who are incarcerated compared to white people. It is known that this system can’t be broken without the conversation of race being brought up. Maybe this is partially why a small amount of backlash could make the proposal drop so quickly. People can blame the complexity of the system and the need for “bad” people to be kept away, but this just seems like a giant coverup for talking about race.