Death Of Black And White Penal Hell Hole, Popular Media,...

Kids can no longer play outside; people lock their doors at night. People fear daily whether they will make it back to their house at night. Some leave in the morning in a suit and tie off to their nine to five jobs, others go off into the streets, trying to make the best they can with what they have. America is the leading nation of individuals in prison, representing almost a quarter of the worlds imprisoned population. Over the years, the number of incarcerated individuals has increased as well as the length of the criminal’s sentence. Sadly, this is a dynamic that is not changing anytime in the near future. According to Yvonne Jewkes in â€Å"Punishment in Black and White Penal ‘Hell-Hole,’ Popular Media, and Mass Incarceration,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦The United States prisons have â€Å"more than 2.3 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 942 juvenile correctional facilities, and 3,283 local jails and 79 Indian Country jai ls as well as in military prisons (Wagner, Rabuy). The United States comprises 4.4 percent of the world population, but accounts for 22% of the world’s prison population. Referring to Jewkes, â€Å"young men of African American or African Caribbean descent have borne the brunt of racist and stereotypical news reports about crimes ranging from offices involving drugs, gang membership, guns, homicide, and sexual violence† (54). The high drug problem is part of the reason for Americas high levels of lethal crime. According to Lopez â€Å"unlike regimes like China, it makes use of less punitive punishments like the death penalty (#). The Correctional system is comprised of state and federal county and local institutions. Inmates are detained in the local jails until sentencing. Upon sentencing, the individuals are moved to more permanent housing to serve their time. The two main prison systems used in the United States are state and federal. Although both facilities are serving the same purpose of keeping criminals confided, they still differ. State prisons have a higher capacity and house more violent offenders, and these state inmates are convicted of blue collar crimes. Blue – collar crimes are