User:Benjamin.aviles1/Criminal justice reform in the United States

Sentencing[edit]

Sentencing laws within the U.S. criminal justice system are criticized for being both draconian and racially discriminatory. Additionally, they are cited as the main contributor to the growing and excessive prison population known as mass incarceration.

Copied from Criminal Justice Reform in the United States.

One addition that could be made here is to relate sentencing to the current events that are going on today. Sentencing may change due to the Co-Vid 19 pandemic. It is going to be interesting to see if more house arrest sentences are issues to offenders who are convicted of a crime. This may be beneficial because it will limit overpopulation of jails and could stop the spread of this highly contagious and dangerous disease. Ultimately these new way of sentences could be a form of reform in the Criminal Justice System, especially as jail cells and jail in general are already not as sanitary as one would hope.

To expand on this, in addition to changes in ways punishment is issued, shorter sentences may be decided on by the judge and/or jury. When talking about sentencing in relation to Co-Vid 19, it is important to point out both sides to this argument. On one hand, you do not want jails to be a hotspot for spread but at the same time, justice needs to be served. An important question to ask is, at what expense and risks do we put these individuals in for committing a crime?