Studies indicate that there are more poor women in prison than ever before, and this puts women at risk to become mothers younger, and to have more instability in relationships and family life as their relationships progress. Authors Travis and Visher continue, "Imprisoned offenders are disproportionately from impoverished backgrounds, which places them at greater risk for early and nonmarital parenthood. Early transitions to parenthood are clearly linked to later instability in marriage and relationships and welfare dependency (Travis and Visher, 2005, p. 222-223). Thus, incarcerating more women is putting more families at risk, and creating a vicious circle of poverty, despair, and hopelessness that can simply lead to more criminal activity and incarceration. In addition, this leads to overcrowding of prisons and higher costs for the of mothers sentenced to prison.
In conclusion, gender equity in sentencing has resulted in more women in prison, especially poor, minority women, and it has left a hole in the lives of their families and children. The criminal justice system seems to overly target the poor and minority criminals in society, and as more women in this category end up in prison, there is less hope for the future of their families and children who depend on them. It seems as if gender equity sentencing has made the problem worse, rather than better, and perhaps the criminal justice system needs to rethink their target prison populations, as well as gender equity sentencing.
References
Pope, a.E. (2002). A feminist look at the death penalty. Law and Contemporary Problems, 65(1), 257+.
Travis J. And Visher, C.A. (2005). Prisoner reentry and crime in…
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