Draft - Photo Essay

The strict mandatory sentencing guidelines now being enforced to fight the “war on drugs” have affected the female population greatly. Twenty eight percent of women who are behind bars are there for committing non violent crimes. (source 1) Research across the board shows a large increase in women being handed long sentences for non violent drug offenses. Not only are these sentences unforgiving, a large majority of these women are the sole caregivers to minor children, leaving a path of destruction.

When women who are mothers are sentenced to prison they are not the only one to suffer a loss. In this photo young children of all races are bonding with their mothers who are currently in prison. There must be more programs in place for mothers and children to spend quality time in a positive environment while the woman is incarcerated. Most women report they do not get a visit from their child while in prison. (http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/womenincj_total.pdf)

It is obvious that children of incarcerated parents, especially mothers, have a greater chance to also one day enter the criminal justice system. There is also a 5x more likely chance the child of an incarcerated mother will enter foster home than an incarcerated father. (source 5) By locking these mothers behind bars for many years, for non violent crimes, is putting the next generation at risk. Often times it is the child who pays the ultimate price of having an incarcerated parent.

This intimidating looking visiting room is where prisoners get to spend time with their loved ones. While speaking through a telephone with a thick piece of glass between you is not the most ideal situation, it is your only choice. It may or may not surprise you that most women in prison do not get regular visits with their children, even though they are allowed to visit. Unfortunately, because the majority of incarcerated mothers are held over one hundred miles from home, over one half of the women have never gotten a visit from her child while in prison, and about one third has not spoken to them. (source 1)

According to The Sentencing Project, a startling 60% of women in prison had admitted to having an issue with drug dependence. (source 2) These women in prison are uneducated with only about half graduating high school. They are more likely to be on welfare, unemployed, a victim of abuse, and have a mental illness. (1)  It would seem some women are likely to be committing these nonviolent crimes to satisfy their drug addictions. In non violent cases, perhaps a rehabilitation would help women get their lives in order, whereas prison will only destroy it further.

The federal governments “war on drugs” is not only failing, but it is putting the wrong people behind bars. The focus should be on the higher level drug lords and instead the lowest level dealers and mules are getting strict sentences handed to them. If more lenient sentences were awarded there it would be more likely that person would work with the police to take down the higher level drug dealer. The policies in place need to be changed in order to change or occur. It is simply just not working.

My sources are not in MLA format yet so i noted in places i plan to formally cite.