Rocha 1

Alba Rocha
English 123
Prof. Flores
Fall 2015
Literature Review
Hope For Criminals In The 21st Century
Introduction:
Alternative sentencing programs to reduce the overpopulation of inmates in the state of
California. Experts in the field of criminal justice have come to conclusions that in order to
reduce the overcrowding of inmates, there needs to be an alternative in sentencing. Their
suggestions are to create programs which offer rehabilitation, reentry into society, probation,
counseling, and community service to mention a few. A factor taken to reduce the overcrowding
is due to the high cost of locking people up, fiscal year 2014-2015 California corrections use
9% of the states budget in comparison to 3 % in 1970 (Martin & Grattet). California holds the
17th place in regards to the highest number of incarceration rate in the United States due to the
enacted Three Strikes law that came into effect in the 1990s (Shapiro & Weizer).
How It Started?
President Richard Nixon believed that drugs was the #1 enemy of the United States and
in order to stop the drug abuse he declare the War on Drugs in 1971. He advocated for harsher
sentences for drug users because he saw a correlation between drug users and crime, leaving
aside the point that some of those drug abusers have a social problem and dependency. In 1986,

Rocha 2

Ronald Reagan enacted the Anti-drug abuse act in 1986 where he criminalized any drug abuser
(Cummings). This created a syndrome of mass incarceration for non-violent crimes and therefore
a overcrowding of jails and prisons until this day. In 1993, California was suffering from high
rate in crime. Citizens were scared and a solution needed to be done soon. A group of experts in
the field proposed the Three Strikes Law it was an intent to make sentences tougher for
criminal. In the article: California three Strikes law: History, Expectations, Consequences by
James Ardaiz, an appellate and court judge for the state of California, he describes the time when
the Three Strikes Law took into effect. The overall purpose of this is to punish according to their
crime and prevent people from committing the same crime again. It was also mean to effectively
reduce crime and serious violent criminal behavior through the use of sentencing and/or
punishment.

Factors that Contribute to Overcrowding in Prisons:

One of the factors of why the United States and more specifically California a budget
crisis is because of the overcrowding in the prisons. California holds the highest record in budget
crisis which have to do with prisons and jails (Jacobson 2005). In his opinion, Jacobson believes
that the state of California has to make changes to present policies pertaining to incarceration
subjects. Researchers have speculated that Californias budget crisis would strike them a plan to
modify sentencing reform that would eliminate the over population. Until this day, no action has
been made to sentence tougher criminals while still protecting citizens of all sudden rise in crime
(Vitellio 2012). In average it cost the State of California $47,102 per year to house an inmate
according to research done 2008-2009 by the Legislative Analyst Office in Sacramento. Vitiello
states that there is a plan to condense prisons population by 137.5 % of its design capacity by

Rocha 3

2016. Overcrowding in jails leads to the state being sued for violation of the 8th amendment , due
to the conditions and confinements (Mauer 1988) Experts in the field argue that the reasons for
mass incarceration is to have a better condition and reduce crime.
Alternative Programs:
The criminal justice system should offer alternatives to sentencing to low level criminals.
Schwartz in her article I Had A Dream: Alternatives To Prison Solution Program In The
Southern District of California argues, the need for remedial options for people. Some of these
people do not have sufficient guidance and as a result they fall into the wrong path that if left
unchanged could lead to them being back into prison. Programs such as counseling, employment,
support, and medical should be provided to low level offenders to perhaps change their lives.
People in this programs are not treated like victims, they are punished for their action yet given a
chance to redeem themselves and do well. Punishments are lessons so that the person who
commits a crime could see that every action has a consequence (Schwartz). California has been
under pressure to seek alternatives that will hold offenders accountable yet save them money and
that will not compromise the citizens safety The California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR), has a very few programs that let female inmates to serve part of their
sentence in a community founded facility (Martin & Grattet). The most common programs offer
are house arrest and work release. Most of the house arrest involves an electronic monitored
device and many of the offenders have to abide by a certain set of rules. The vision of being able
to reduce the overcrowding of prisons while trying to control the state budget is a long process
that will continue to look for solutions.

Rocha 4

Why Alternative Programs Would Not Have a Drastic Impact:

Suggesting a plan to reform sentencing of criminal will be difficult to accomplish
politically, due to the fact that many political should be in agreement that prisoners will be have
to be released into society (Lynch). Reducing the amount of sentence for an offender will not
have any effect on reducing incarceration. Lynch expresses that the reason why many people are
in jail is because of the sentence length for their crime and that in some instances there is no need
for sentence where the crime does not fit the punishment. He describes how some people in jail
do not belong there, and the reason why they remain in prisons and jails is because of their lack
of mental coherence which disturbs the community. Providing services such as alternatives to
sentencing, because they are cheaper could compromise the safety of citizens and therefore
cause chaos and disturbance. We can smarter about our use of incarceration without sacrificing
public safety, it does not imply that all people who commit a crime deserve to be in prison
because that will increase an excessive amount of money and the point here is to reduce mass
incarceration.
Conclusion:
Reducing the overcrowding in prison in California is a long process that is yet to be defined. The
solution that seems more appropriate is to determine who really needs to be incarcerated and do
does the punishment meet the crime. There are different proposed alternatives that depend on the
political aspect in California to determine if it is a great idea. By conducting options to low level
criminals California might be able to save some money while also helping offenders have a
better perspective on life and reduce recidivism at all.

Rocha 5

Works Cited
Ardaiz, James A. Californias Three Strikes Law: History, Expectations, Consequences.
Mcgeorge Law Review 32. (2000): 1. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Web. 18 Sept.
2015.
Cummings, Andre Douglas Pond. "'All Eyez On Me': 1 America's War On Drugs And The
Prison-Industrial Complex." The Journal Of Gender, Race & Justice 15. (2012): 417.
LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.
Jacobson, Michael. Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration.
New York and London: New York University Press, 2005. Print.
Mauer, Marc. "Doing Good Instead Of Doing Time. Business & Society Review (00453609) 66
(1988): 22. Business Source Premier. Web. 12 Sept. 2015.
Martin, Brandon, and Ryken Grattet. "Alternatives to Incarceration in California." Public Policy
Institute of California. Public Policy Institute of California, 1 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Sept.
2015.
Lynch, Gerard E. "Ending Mass Incarceration: Some Observations and Responses to Professor
Tonry." Criminology & Public Policy: 561-66. Print.
Schwartz, Nancee S. "I Had A Dream: Alternatives To Prison Solution Program (APS) In The
Southern District Of California." Federal Probation 76.2 (2012): 13-14. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.

Rocha 6

Shapiro, Ian, and Stephen Wizner. "Better ways to end prison overcrowding than just releasing
inmates." Christian Science Monitor 30 June 2011: N.PAG. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 12 Sept. 2015.
Vitiello, Michael. "Alternatives To Incarceration: Why Is California Lagging Behind?." Georgia
State University Law Review 28. (2012): 1275. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews.
Web. 10 Sept. 2015.