Essay Example on Ava DuVernay showcases how the incarceration rate in America

Government Semester 1 Extra Credit In the documentary 13th the director Ava DuVernay showcases how the incarceration rate in America has grown tremendously in the past years leading up to today Not only are the rates of prisoners rising but the races that lead the statistics are targeted anywhere but the white community In the article Ava DuVernay on How 13th Reframes American History author Juleyka Lantigua Williams states how In her new documentary the filmmaker explores how the Thirteenth Amendment led to an epidemic of mass incarceration in the United States Although others may avoid the issues or in simpler words beat around the bush director DuVernay chose a serious issue rising in America and showed how easily it can emerge over time just as it has already done in previous years While many believe that America s issue with mass incarceration cannot be fixed due to the war on drugs and because of those who have never encountered first hand being the target of law officers it can in fact be fixed by shortening unfair prison sentences as well as stopping false accusations of crime offenders Many may believe that the mass incarceration issue in America cannot be fixed at all One reason of thinking this way is because of the current war on drugs in our country In the article Why You Can't Blame Mass 

Incarceration On The War On Drugs author German Lopez states During the 1970s and 80s the federal government dramatically escalated it s war on drugs This alone led to millions of people getting locked up for fairly low level drug offenses Many prisoners are in jail for getting caught with the possession of drugs and are being sentenced to periods of time that should not be equal to their crime Also many may argue that the issue of incarceration cannot be fixed due to people who have never been in the situation as the target or focus In the article Ava DuVernay on How 13th Reframes American History author Juleyka Lantigua Williams talks to the director of the previously stated documentary and states I grew up in Compton There was a heavy police presence growing up in the 80s 90s in Compton I d see a cop and I didn t think safety I d think Oh boy what are they coming for And who are they coming after In other words the target of officers is generally not focuses on whites having that said if whites have never been in this situation then they are most likely oblivious to seeing how other races are being focused on when it comes to crimes When talking about how the mass incarceration rates in America would not be able to decrease due to the stated above reasons they can in fact lower due to fixing unfair prison sentences In a New York Post article How to fix America's mass incarceration problem the author Brad Parks explains 

There have been cases in the past where a black individual was accused of a crime sentenced to years in prison just to find out later that they were innocent in the first place Mass incarceration in America has been an issue for at least a decade but as the numbers continue to rise when it comes to counting the number of inmates in both federal and state prisons the issue is becoming bigger than ever Although many may argue that the incarceration issue will never be fixed because of the rising war on drugs and individuals not understanding the targets of law enforcement it can in fact be fixed due to cutting down on unfair prison sentences and stopping the false accusations of innocent people Now it's time to be the change America needs in order to fix this issue will you be cause or solution to all of it Works Cited Lantigua Williams Juleyka Ava DuVernay's 13th Reframes American History The Atlantic Atlantic Media Company 6 Oct 2016 https www theatlantic com entertainment archive 2016 10 ava duvernay 13th netflix 503075 Lopez German Why You Can't Blame Mass Incarceration on the War on Drugs Vox Vox 30 May 2017 https www vox com policy and politics 2017 5 30 15591700 mass incarceration john pfaff locked in Parks Brad How to Fix America's Mass Incarceration Problem New York Post New York Post 2 Nov 2015 https nypost com 2015 11 01 how to fix americas mass incarceration problem