What justice issues does Alexander raise?

The justice issues raised by Alexander are race related and concerns the African American males, this includes employment discrimination, denial of educational opportunities, housing discrimination, and exemption from the jury. The American criminal justice system uses the fight against drugs as a way of enforcing both the new and old methods of discriminations. Alexander indicates that the justice issues felt by the African American are also present among other minority groups and the socially and economically disadvantaged groups.

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What role do race, gender, and other differences play in sentencing, especially concerning incarnation?

The race acts as the key target of the criminal justice system to enforce the social control of the African Americans. The increased levels of racism have resulted in the high rate of in incarceration with a larger portion of the prisoners being the African Americans. In the united states, a large percentage of the prisoners are the black individuals, in Washington the national capital estimates that three out of four black men expects to serve jail terms while similar statistics of incarcerations can be found in other parts the united states with black populations (Barak, 2010). Taking into consideration that even the whites are at a high chance of committing drug crimes makes the point clear that racism is a way of social control and that the severity of the punishment is not related to the crime done. The act of racism among the African American population is mainly present among the male gender. Therefore, gender is another key influence on the criminal justice sentencing. The black male individuals stand at a higher chance of being subjected to incarceration as compared to the female (Barak, 2010). The increased social control is referred to as the racial caste system whose main aim is to ensure that the people of color are placed in the inferior positions.

What is the impact of collateral consequences?

The greatest effect of people sentenced for a certain crime is reflected in collateral consequences and as well as being viewed as criminals. Collateral consequences have various impacts that include. First, the consequences lead to unemployment this occurs as a result of the laws that hinder the hiring of people or individuals convicted of a crime. Therefore once an individual has completed the sentence, he or she suffers the effect of unemployment since no employee is ready to high people with criminal records. Secondly, Collateral consequences can also affect family relations through areas such as not having the opportunity to have custody of the children. Once convicted of a crime the government may restrict you from bringing up the children since there is fear that one may be a threat to the children's lives.

What strategies does she recommend for the change?

Alexander argues that the mass incarceration should be responded to as an issue of civil rights and racial justice. Therefore she recommends various strategies that include. First, she recommends the mobilization of civil rights communities to address the incarceration case through the provision of factual information, arguments, data, and points of reference to those interested in tackling the case. Her main goal is to enhance the existing mentality concerning the equity, human rights, and proportional opportunities in the United States to avoid the later occurrence of the racial control. For example, if the leaders of the African Americans and the civil right organization in 1940 had not put Jim crow segregation at the frontline of racial justice issue, there would not have been any success taking into consideration that the racial segregation acted as the driving factor to social control in the united states (Lynch, 2011)..

Secondly, the development of racial justice programs which involved criminal justice as its main agenda has led to the development of the drug law reform project. Meanwhile, the continuous advocacy by the civil rights movements in the United States has contributed to the condemnation of racial profiling even to the enforcement that once upheld the practice. The racial justice program will help address the issues of discrimination among the African American population through ensuring that criminal justice is served during sentencing.

What are the justice issues raised by heitzeg?

The justice issue reflected in the school to prison pipeline is the tough endurance that the African Americans undergo throughout their schooling since they undergo huge discrimination and unfair treatment through being disciplined according to the race. Various practices that had been implemented in schools in the united states over the years to help reduce school violence and other criminal activities have resulted to youth criminalizing, thus leading to mass incarceration in the country these practices include the addition of the school's resource officers and the introduction of the zero policies

What role do the race, gender, class, and other differences play in zero tolerance and policing in schools, concerning the school of prisons pipeline?

The race gender and other differences act as the act as the main target of the zero tolerance and policing in schools. The introduced disciplinary practices and policies such as the zero tolerance, do not race-neutral or random, they mainly target the youths of color, race and those with disabilities. The disciplinary practices of the pipeline are mainly present in the public schools that are underfunded by the government and experience a lot of pressure to perform on both the academic and social level. These practices intend to subject the adolescents to punishment and push them to prisons. In the year 2006 to2007, the number of black students facing school suspensions increased by 12% while that of the whites reduced since the enforcement of the zero-tolerance policies (Winn, 2011). Once an adolescent drops out of school, they are eight times likely to be incarcerated as compared to the youth who graduate from high school.

What strategies does she recommend for the change?

Heitzeg recommends various strategies that include. First, she tries to advocate for education instead of incarceration. She intends to see the schools become a place where the adolescent students may make a mistake while still gaining education instead of having the students denied the education right due to incarceration that comes because of making mistakes in school.

Secondly, she recommends the end of the police presence in schools and zero tolerance policies. These two practices are the leading factors to tough punishment among adolescent in schools mainly among the colored and the disabled thus leading to school to prisons pipeline. Both the zero tolerance and police presence in schools enhance the chances of the youth being incarcerated through various methods that include expulsion and suspension (Gaines, 2013).

What are the similarities and differences between these positions?

The similarities between this two positions that are the imprisonment and the school to prison pipeline are that in both the main factor determining the outcome is the color blind racism. The African Americans are considered to be highly affected on both cases as compared to the whites since they are considered to be at a high chance of committing a crime; thus they are subjected to imprisonment or incidences of suspension or expulsion in schools.

Differences.

The difference in this positions is that the school to prison pipeline mainly affect the adolescents who are at risk of dropping out of school and facing incarceration as a result of the crimes committed such as drug crimes. While for the case of new Jim Crow laws those affected are mainly the African American adults who are likely to face imprisonment and other discriminations such as workplace discrimination.

What was your position on prisons and punishment before taking this course, and what sources of information shaped your position?

My position no prisons and punishment before taking this course was that both prisons and punishment acted effectively to address criminal behaviours across all individuals without discrimination or bias with the intention of minimizing offenders. According to Andrew von Harish 1997, the choice of either punishment or imprisonment is dependent on the kind of mistake committed

What is your position on prisons and imprisonment now?

My position on both the punishment and imprisonment now is that they are both not carrying out their duties in the right manner. They have changed in that, the kind of mistake is not a factor of consideration on whether to serve punishment or jail time instead other factors such as the race and the social level are considered thus leading to delivery of the wrong sentence.

What recommendations would you make regarding imprisonment and school to prison pipeline in the United States?

Equity and continuous improvement, this involves the encouraging continuation of the trained school personnel and also obtaining feedback from the public on if the imprisonment and punishment policies are effective and how they can be improved. This will help ensure that equity is observed since each and everyone's decision is considered.

Involve the parents and the public in the creation of policies that are aimed at addressing both the imprisonment and school to prison pipeline. This helps people express their views on areas that they feel oppressed and provide a platform for everyone to air his or her views.

References

Barak, G., Leighton, P., & Flavin, J. (2010). Class, race, gender, and crime: The social realities of justice in America. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Gaines, L. K., & Kremling, J. (2013). Drugs, crime, and justice: Contemporary Perspectives. Waveland Press.

Lynch, M. (2011). Mass incarceration, legal change, and locale. Criminology & Public Policy, 10(3), 673-698.

Winn, M. T., & Behizadeh, N. (2011). The right to be literate: Literacy, education, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Review of Research in Education, 35(1), 147-173.