The United States holds a larger proportion of its population in prison than any other nation in the world. How has this happened, and is it a problem? In this lesson, students will consider whether the nation’s system for addressing crime is effective and consistent with its Constitutional ideals of equality under the law.
Teachers may wish to begin by brainstorming with students on what they already know or believe about crime, punishment and the prison system in America before investigating one or more of the topics below.
1. Does America incarcerate too many people?
Incarceration rates have more than tripled over the last 30 years, in part because of stiffer drug sentencing laws. By 2008 the United States, which makes up less than five percent of the world’s population, held almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners. Nonviolent offenders make up more than 60 percent of the nation’s 2.3 million prisoners, with nonviolent drug offenders accounting for one quarter of that population.
The rising tide of prisoners has swamped prison systems and strained state budgets; in 2011 the Supreme Court said overcrowding in California amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment” and ordered the state to reduce its prison population.
And consider the case of New York City, which has managed to dramatically reduce both crime and incarceration rates simultaneously over the past 20 years, while prison rates have soared nationally.
- Design an infographic or poster highlighting key facts and consequences of imprisonment in America. Consider which of these statistics you feel are most compelling and read the sources highlighted above and other stories from The New York Times. Our 2008 lesson plan “Doing Time” can also be helpful to provide additional resources, statistics and ideas for completing this activity.
- Practice your research and argumentation skills by holding a class debate, writing a position paper or mailing a letter to a political leader answering the following questions: Are high incarceration rates making our communities safer? Are long prison terms the most effective approach to preventing crime? Are prisons cost-effective?
2. How do long prison terms affect families and communities?
Carl Harris, 47, spent two decades in prison after being convicted of assaulting people in connection with his business dealing crack cocaine. What became of his wife and children while he was away? Read the story “Prison and the Poverty Trap” and take notes on how people in Mr. Harris’s Washington, D.C. neighborhood were affected by having a family member imprisoned for extended periods of time.
- Decide whether reducing the length of prison terms could help such communities, or whether other strategies stand a better chance of reducing poverty and crime. Write a position paper using facts from this and other stories to support your argument and to rebut other perspectives.
3. How have mandatory minimum sentences contributed to higher incarceration rates?
Mandatory minimum sentences, passed by Congress or state legislatures, force judges to impose penalties in some situations. Critics say they have dramatically increased the number and duration of prison sentences. In one case, a woman received a life sentence in prison in connection with a box of drugs she said a boyfriend hid in her house. The judge admitted it was unfair to impose such a sentence, but his hands were tied by the law. Last year the Supreme Court took action against some forms of mandatory sentencing laws, ruling that it was unconstitutional to give mandatory life sentences without parole to juveniles convicted of murder. Courts must “consider the characteristics of a defendant and the details of his offense before sentencing,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan.
- Research other cases that involve mandatory minimum sentencing. Then write a letter to your state or federal legislator in which you make the case for or against such laws.
4. Do policing methods unfairly determine who goes to jail or runs into trouble with the law?
That’s the question in a current case being heard in New York, where a Federal District Court judge is hearing arguments in connection with the Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy.
Use New York Times resources to learn about different perspectives on stop-and-frisk so you can develop your own position on the issue:
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg: “Stop-and-Frisk Policy ‘Saves Lives,’ Mayor Tells Black Congregation”
- A Diverse Group of 17 New Yorkers: “New Yorkers Speak Out on Stop, Question and Frisk Policy”
- Room for Debate Panel: “Does ‘Stop and Frisk’ Reduce Crime?”
- Nicholas K. Peart: “Why Is the N.Y.P.D. After Me?”
- Op-Doc: “The Scars of Stop-and-Frisk” (video above)
- Consider the different viewpoints about New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy, and take a position on the issue. Is stop-and-frisk good policing? Does it reduce crime? Does it violate people’s civil rights? Does it erode community trust in the police? Defend your stance in a debate, argumentative essay or newspaper editorial.
- Read this story on the latest developments with stop-and-frisk tactics and make a prediction on whether the court will rule such methods illegal, explaining your legal rationale.
- Are there ways for police departments to ensure that police stops are conducted lawfully? Could New York City learn from Philadelphia, which accepted oversight by an independent monitor along with other measures? Could requiring police officers to wear video cameras reduce unlawful police stops? Write a proposal offering the city advice on how to ensure that its stop-and-frisk policy does not violate anyone’s civil rights.
5. Should juveniles receive special protection in the legal system?
For years, juveniles in some U.S. states and counties have faced particularly harsh consequences for legal infractions or even a simple misbehavior. A federal investigation found that students in Mississippi had been jailed for talking back in class or wearing the wrong socks to school. Now, in some places including the state of Tennessee, governments are creating alternative programs to help reform the behavior of low-level offenders without sending them to jail.
- Read these viewpoints on when juvenile criminals should be sent to jail and how they should be treated there. Then hold a class debate on the subject, with students playing the roles of different experts or court defendants.
- Read about the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision to bar mandatory life terms for juveniles and this news analysis. Then consider the perspectives of a victim’s family and a juvenile offender now in his 30s behind bars. Answer our Student Opinion question “When Should Juvenile Offenders Receive Life Sentences?” using evidence from these articles.
6. Should America’s justice system ever show forgiveness toward people convicted of a violent crime?
On March 28, 2010, Conor McBride shot and killed his fiancé, Ann Grosmaire. A little more than a year later her parents did something unheard-of in their Florida community: They asked the local prosecutor to show leniency.
Read the story, “Can Forgiveness Play a Role in Criminal Justice?”, which details the “restorative justice” process that led to Mr. McBride’s sentence of 20 years plus probation rather than life in prison. Do you believe that it benefits society when victims’ families play a role in sentencing violent criminals? And who showed the most bravery in participating in the process — the victim’s family, Mr. McBride or the prosecutor?
- Hold a class vote or four corners exercise on the question of whether forgiveness should be part of criminal sentencing, with students writing individual responses to explain their position. Then discuss this breakdown of reader responses to the same question. Did students and New York Times readers make the same choices?
- Schools are also trying out restorative justice to help at-risk students stay engaged with their classmates and communities. Read this story on efforts at one California school. Can such programs work anywhere to deter misbehavior and student conflict? Consider potential conflicts in your school, and hold a class discussion on ways that restorative justice might be a useful approach.
7. Should the death penalty be outlawed?
Maryland may soon follow 17 other states in outlawing capital punishment, largely because of the advent of DNA technology that has found many death row inmates to be innocent of their crimes. Other states’ death penalty laws have been criticized for giving prosecutors too much power to decide which crimes merit the death penalty. In one case, a man was sentenced to death for kidnapping and first-degree murder, even though by all accounts he was not directly involved in the killing, while accomplices who cooperated with the prosecution may eventually be freed.
- Do you believe there are certain crimes or circumstances that warrant the death penalty, despite the flaws that have been demonstrated in some capital cases? Research the issue and write an essay in which you argue for or against continuation of capital punishment in the United States, taking into account recent events and arguments on both sides of your position.
8. Does the United States Constitution guarantee people the right to a competent lawyer when they get arrested?
Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that even penniless defendants were entitled to competent lawyers when facing serious charges. At the time, the ruling was described as a landmark for the United States legal system. But has America fully embraced its challenge to give all defendants equal treatment under the law?
Read this 2003 article by Anthony Lewis (a longtime Times reporter and columnist who died recently), which describes how a competent lawyer helped the defendant Clarence Earl Gideon to win his case on appeal. Then read the following Opinion pieces on the 50th anniversary of the case.
- “Gideon’s Muted Trumpet”
- “The Right To Counsel: Badly Battered at 50″
- “Needed in New York: Better Legal Defense for the Poor”
- Do these writers agree or disagree on the problems facing full implementation of the Gideon ruling? Write an analytical essay in which you evaluate each author’s argument, explaining which writer makes the most persuasive and fact-based case. Or write your own editorial, citing facts of your own choosing, to make a different argument about Gideon v. Wainwright at 50.
Common Core ELA Anchor Standards, 6-12
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Speaking and Listening
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
3. Understands the sources, purposes, and functions of law, and the importance of the rule of law for the protection of individual rights and the common good
25. Understands issues regarding personal, political, and economic rights
26. Understands issues regarding the proper scope and limits of rights and the relationships among personal, political, and economic rights