¶ … Alone in the World -- Neil Bernstein
The book is both a reflection of the damage done and a future roadmap. The author has employed several convincing aspects of narration in expressing her criticism of the policies that govern crime and the management of those convicted of various offences. Policies such as sentencing, arrest, foster care, legacy, visiting and re-entry are cast in the exploration.
Accounts from her interviews with children whose parents are incarcerated help us to not only see the suffering and trauma that such children go through, but also help us to see the lacunae in the system. the police took away Ricky's mother rather quickly, Leaving Ricky alone to fend for his younger brother who was an infant. Ricky had to take up adult responsibilities. He, a child too, cooked and took care of his infant brother for two weeks. Neighbours got concerned and called in Child Protection Services. In another case, Antonia, 5 years old saw her mom picked up by the police, handcuffed and locked in the back of a police patrol car for a prostitution offence. She stayed with her brother aged 10 years for a whole week before their mother returned (Goldstein, 2004).
According to human rights activists on the international front, incarceration of parents remains the greatest threat to the well-being of children in the U.S. (The Osborne Association, 2010). The threat adds to the many negative effects that children encounter apart from the already delimiting poverty, unemployment of their parents, unreliable housing, and the violence they witness as their parents are sent to prison (Drucker...
Mass Incarceration in Arizona: Trends and History Mass incarceration is an example of one of the more profound injustices of our time. Arizona is one of the states in America that currently struggles with mass incarceration, as its penal system has spiraled out of control, becoming a factor of injustice, rather than a necessary and notable part of the justice system. This paper will look at how the penal system has
Sentencing in the US versus in Germany and the Netherlands There is one major difference between the sentencing and corrections policies of the US and the sentencing and corrections policies of Germany and the Netherlands. The former bases its policy on the ideas of retribution and incapacitation, whereas the latter base their policies on the ideas of rehabilitation and socialization (Vera Institute of Justice, 2013). This basic philosophical orientation towards the
African-American Incarceration African-American Race and the Criminal Justice System: The Effect on Black Communities Racial Disparities and Incarceration Recent studies have shown that race is a factor in the criminal justice system. For example, a study analyzing statewide sentencing outcomes in Pennsylvania for 1989-1992, found that, net of controls: (1) young black males are sentenced more harshly than any other group, (2) race is most influential in the sentencing of younger rather than
Imprisonment on Individuals, Families, and Communities Incarceration and its Impacts "Research has shown that the American prison system -- and the "get tough" approach to crime that has helped increase the incarceration rates -- impacts just the entire society, especially poor communities…" (Shelden, 2004, p. 6). Incarceration certainly has an impact -- mostly negative -- on the individual that is incarcerated. But what about the family of the incarcerated person? And what
Incarceration on Prisoners Families There can be little doubt that incarceration will impact on families as well as the prisoner. With more than 1 million women and 6 million men within the correctional system in the U.S. (Clarke and Adashi 923), indicating an exponentially large number of family members being impacted. The family members most impacted are the immediate family; partners, and children, as well as parents, as well as
0%), cohabiting parents (61.8%), cohabiting stepparents (71.0%), and married stepparents (65.2-16%). Recall that when we consider all children, we find that the food insecurity rates are significantly lower for children living with married stepparents than for children with cohabiting parents or single-mother families. Finally, food insecurity rates are significantly lower for lower-income children living with their married biological/adoptive parents (46.8%) than for all other groups considered. The share of lower-income children who are
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