Have you ever been intimated or have had a loved one face a fatal encounter with police? These encounters seem to be happening more and more likely in Brown and Black communities despite people of color being the least likely to call the cops. They fear the police escalating the situation and fear for the lives of their family. According to “Justice cant wait packet” made by Houston social justice groups along with others. It shows that Black Houstonians makeup, just 23% of the population, but 36% of police stops, 49% of citation- eligible arrests, and 63% of those shot by Houston Police Department. The current metro area population of Houston in 2021 is 6,491,000, a 1.88% increase from 2020.
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I’d been charged with felony theft, which I didn’t understand whatsoever at the time. But these hard faces full of hatred inside of the police department, informed me of a more conflicted time ahead of me. I was struggling to remember any working numbers, having now been so dependent upon a cell phone at 19 years old. I was immensely disappointed with myself and before my tears broke through, I realized the truth at hand: I didn’t have any money on me. Truth be told, I didn’t have any money in my checking account.
I worked in Jordan, which is an Arab country in southwest Asia. Jordan is bordered by Israel to the west, Syria to the north and Iraq to the east. I lived in a tent with 100 other women. There was one showering facility to accommodate all the women on the site. Inside of the shower facilities were Ten shower heads, for all the women on the site. Approximately 134 women resided on the site, so easy math will show that we did not have an adequate living arrangement.
Juneteenth, signifies the day of freedom for all slaves. It is known as the longest running African American holiday, a day long celebration for our independence. In honor of recognizing our ancestors history, it feels befitting to also recognize those that continue to struggle against a similar powerless position. Just last year in 2020, Congress Democrats proposed a resolution to the exception clause in the 13th Amendment that permits, what prisoners call “modern day slavery. The clause states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
I have lost count of the many times I have heard women, both family members and friends coo over men they considered “tall, dark, and handsome.” And for some of those women, the taller and darker, the better! These characteristics were always discussed as something to admire in men, but what happens when those very characteristics put those same men’s lives in danger?
The fifth and fourteenth amendments of the U.S Constitution declares protections for the accused. It says defendants are “Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” So why is it that 6 out of 10 people are housed in jail awaiting trial? The answer, they are unable to post bail. Since 2014, only two states, New Jersey and Alaska have reformed their cash bail system. “These states now give defendants a supervised release or mandatory detention, with the conditions determined with a risk assessment,” which seems fair and logical. The fact that freedom can be bought causes the criminal system to reek of the smell of greed not of justice. So, here are some facts:
People with criminal records in America struggle systematically in many different ways, including, but not limited to voting, education, and even housing. What is arguably the worst part of this is that criminal records are very common in our country. “One in three people in the United States have a criminal record, meaning they are subjected to more than 44,000 associated legal sanctions.” (Lake, J., 2021). Another issue is that many of these people are either innocent and/or ready to start life anew, but still they are faced with issues that make it hard for them to acquire even the basics that they need to survive.
Let’s take housing disparities for example, people with criminal records have a much higher chance of homelessness and struggling to find good housing of their own than people without criminal records. “Yet many formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as individuals who were convicted but not incarcerated, encounter significant barriers to securing housing, including public and other federally-subsidized housing because of their criminal history.” (Kanovsky, H., 2016).” Many of them do not have families to live with either, meaning that they end up homeless. Even worse is that if they do have families, there are many cases where their families have to suffer with regards to housing as well because of their criminal record. “In a recent survey of formerly incarcerated people and their families: 79% of survey participants were either ineligible for or denied housing because of their own or a loved one’s conviction history;” (RHC, 2016). This article also goes on to explain that there is indeed a direct correlation between being homeless and having a criminal record. In conclusion, the amount of people with criminal records who end up homeless in America is highly disproportionate, and oftentimes, it is of no fault of their own. Next to criminal records, the main reason that Americans are denied housing is issues of employment and income, which is also the result of a criminal record for many. What this shows is that many of these people are stuck in a catch 22 situation that it can be nearly impossible to get out of because of systematic restrictions, which is arguably the result of unfair political practice. Written By: Roshawn C. Evans Resources Kanovsky, H. (2016). Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lake, J. (2021). Preventing and Removing Barriers to Housing Security for People with Criminal Convictions. Center for American Progress. Reentry and Housing Coalition (RHC). (2016). Housing Access for People With Criminal Records: Statistics. RHC. http://www.reentryandhousing.org/ In December 2005, at the age of 22, I agreed to 7-years deferred adjudication in lieu of facing a prison sentence. Naively, I thought I dodged the bullet and assumed probation was nothing more than a monthly urinary analysis. I quickly learned the err of assuming.
In 1984 the Sentencing Reform Act was passed into legislation introducing mandatory sentencing to the criminal justice system. Essentially this means that a committee got together and discussed different crime violations and decided on a non-negotiable amount of time an offender will have to spend behind bars no matter what. Outlined by FAMM, a sentencing and prison policies reform organization here is the problem, “Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require judges to give all offenders convicted of a certain crime the same punishment — regardless of whether it fits the crime or the offender or is necessary to keep the public safe. Judges are not allowed to consider any special facts or unique circumstances, the offender’s role, the person’s motive or profit, whether someone was actually injured, and whether the person is likely to reoffend or can be rehabilitated. Mandatory minimum sentences result in lengthy, excessive sentences for many people, leading to injustices, prison crowding, high costs for taxpayers — and less public safety.” The bottom line, a squeaky clean record won’t gain you redemption or a lighter sentence just a hope that additional time won’t be added.
The justice system, specifically the housing system, of America can make life much more difficult for someone with a criminal record. For example, though millions of people are released from jails and prisons combined every year in America, many of them have no family to move in with and have trouble finding proper housing of their own upon release. Those with mental illness are even more likely to face this kind of dilemma. With that being said, homelessness is a common issue amongst people who come out of jails and prisons trying to acclimate themselves back into the real world. Not only does this contribute overall to homelessness in America in this direct manner, but in many cases, it also causes people without criminal records to have to compete with them for the very same housing assistance resources. In many cases, people with criminal records are denied public housing altogether.
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June 2024
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