MANDATORY MINIMUMS AND MISPLACED JUSTICE
by Benjamin White
In 2004 , Patrick W . Matthews , a 17-year-old with a drug problem , was convicted of multiple counts of unarmed burglary as a result of a single criminal incident . 1 Matthews did not serve time in prison for his crime , and had no other violent criminal history . 2 In 2009 , he was convicted of a second crime . 3 Because Matthews was sentenced under Louisiana ’ s Habitual Offender law , he received a sentence of life in prison at hard labor without the possibility of parole , probation , or suspension of sentence . 4 He will live out the remainder of his life and die in prison unless he is pardoned or his sentence is commuted . Matthews , a father of two , was 22 years old when he was sentenced to life without parole . 5
Life without parole . There is something uniquely American about those words . The severity and finality that these words express appeal to our sense of justice . These words are featured prominently in popular culture , from Grateful Dead and Merle Haggard song lyrics , to interrogation-room threats regularly seen in police procedural dramas such as Law and Order , Criminal Minds , or CSI . Americans are accustomed to seeing depictions of stubborn criminal suspects cajoled into aiding police investigations when faced with the threat of lengthy prison sentences . Even the horrific conditions within prison are a subject of comic entertainment in pop culture . Tyler Perry ’ s Madea provides comic relief by informing others that she has been to prison , and thus knows how to “ shank ” them if they step out of line . The “ don ’ t drop the soap ” routine , reproduced by comedians from Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun to Adam Sandler and Kevin James in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry , has become something of a cultural trope in its own right . A common perception about prison is revealed in these examples from popular culture . Perhaps more concerning is how these popular depictions of prison conditions and sentences may affect the degree of gravity with which we think about our penal system .
The United States incarcerates more citizens per capita than any other nation in the world . 6 Not only does the United States have the highest incarceration rate per capita , but it has the highest prison population in the world . 7 The United States is home to only one-twentieth of the world ’ s population , but one quarter of its prisoners . 8 Approximately 2.3 million individuals are serving prison sentences in the U . S . 9 More people are serving sentences here in the U . S . than in Russia , where
More people are prisoners in the Land of the Free than in countries that Americans typically regard as unjust and oppressive regimes .
there are approximately 890,000 , or China where there are approximately 1.6 million . 10 More people are prisoners in the Land of the Free than in countries that Americans typically regard as unjust and oppressive regimes . Granted , these numbers themselves do not necessarily provide any incisive critique of the American penal system .
The old adage “ if you can ’ t do the time , don ’ t do the crime ” seems to express a justice-centered view of prison and prison sentences . If those simple words of wisdom are believed , the people in prison are those who chose to “ do the crime .” And it is true that those in prison , if fairly convicted , are there because they committed a crime . And because of that crime , they are serving the sentence that has been pronounced by the justice system . But a correlation between crime and punishment is not the same as justice .
The explosion of the prison population in the United States is due at least in part to the sentencing laws passed during the “ tough on crime ” era of the 1980s and 1990s . Dozens of states passed “ three strikes ” laws during the 90s . These laws mandate specific penalties , often lengthy prison sentences , for offenders convicted of a third offense . The laws were championed by politicians from both major parties , including presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton . 11 Promising to send more bad guys to prison was , and often still is , an effective campaign promise . The campaign promise is far more effective than prison itself .
In spite of startlingly high rates of recidivism , some in the U . S . remain committed to mandatory prison sentences as a solution to habitual criminality . More than 75 percent of inmates are rearrested within five years of being released . 12 For the last few decades , the criminal justice system has been sending a shocking number of individuals into a penal system that does not deliver on its promise of rehabilitation and restoration to society . All this information prompts the question , why are some in the United States so dedicated to a system with such a questionable success rate ?
Penology in the United States has become a polarizing political issue . In the name of morality , law , and public safety , conservatives generally favor tougher criminal penalties . In the 1980s , the Republican party , led by Ronald Reagan , pushed for bail and sentencing reform , page 12 | LIBERTY LEGAL JOURNAL | SPRING / SUMMER 2016