Question

Read the excerpt from Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The collateral consequences of mass incarceration have been equally profound. We ban poor women and, inevitably, their children from receiving food stamps and public housing if they have prior drug convictions. We have created a new caste system that forces thousands of people into homelessness, bans them from living with their families and in their communities, and renders them virtually unemployable. Some states permanently strip people with criminal convictions of the right to vote; as a result, in several Southern states disenfranchisement among African American men has reached levels unseen since before the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We also make terrible mistakes. Scores of innocent people have been exonerated [cleared] after being sentenced to death and nearly executed. Hundreds more have been released after being proved innocent of noncapital crimes through DNA testing. Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural, and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison.

Which quotation from the excerpt most helps readers understand why innocent people are given prison sentences? “The collateral consequences of mass incarceration have been equally profound.” “Scores of innocent people have been exonerated after being sentenced to death and nearly executed.” “Some states permanently strip people with criminal convictions of the right to vote; as a result, in several Southern states disenfranchisement among African American men has reached levels unseen since before the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” “Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural, and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison.”​

Answer 1

The sentence that best illustrates why innocent people might be sentenced to prison points to systemic issues, including presumptions of guilt, poverty, and racial bias. These factors, alongside economic interests in the prison-industrial complex, contribute to the over-incarceration of marginalized groups. The dramatic increase in prison populations over four decades highlights these systemic failings.

Step-by-step explanation:

The quotation from the excerpt most helps readers understand why innocent people are given prison sentences is "Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural, and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison." This sentence points to the multifaceted nature of the criminal justice system's failings, which include a combination of assumed guilt, economic disadvantages, racism, and various systemic issues that collectively contribute to the wrongful conviction of innocent individuals.

Angela Davis, a notable scholar and activist, emphasizes the role of race and poverty in the expansion of the prison population, rejecting the idea that this increase is solely due to better law enforcement. The concept of the prison-industrial complex suggests that financial interests in the incarceration system drive this growth, often at the expense of justice and fairness, especially for marginalized groups.

Federal statistics also show a dramatic rise in prison populations from 200,000 inmates in 1970 to 2.2 million over the next four decades. This increase, coupled with the evident racism and socioeconomic bias, suggests an alignment with Davis's perspective that society too often opts for incarceration as the default response to social problems such as poverty and drug addiction, disregarding more humane and rehabilitative approaches.