Debating the Constitution

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Rachel E. Barkow in "Another Stab at the Constitution", says "We are a nation dedicated to liberty and equality. So it is a particularly tragic irony that America leads the world in imprisonment and that a large proportion of those serving sentences are people of color." She argues that the eighth amendment should be closely followed.

 This quote suggests that although America claims to be land of liberty and equality and the "land of the free", it has the highest incarceration rate in the world. America has about 20% of the incarceration rate of the world. Many people are sometimes wrongfully sentenced or sentenced harshly for a minor crime. Also, she argues that the majority are people of color. This shows the inequality in the system. 

 I chose this quote because it is the sad and true reality in America today. We see people getting arrested for a minor crime and sometimes the evidence isn't looked at closely, and so that leads to wrongfully accusing and then imprisoning an innocent person. People of color are usually discriminated against and judged by their appearance as criminals. This is what leads to the over imprisonment of people. Most of the time people are harshly punished. 

 -Amina Mohamed  

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 8, 2018 at 10:01 AM

    Exactly! African Americans are the number one ethnic group incarcerated in US prisons. At times, they can commit the same crime as a white person and the white person won't be charged for the same crime committed.

    ReplyDelete

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