Levels of economic status English 301B
ENGLISH 301В DIAGNOSTIC ESSAY SPRING 2014 Pastrana
DIRECTIONS: You will have 75 minutes to respond to the topic below. I will let you know when there are ten minutes remaining. Please bring me your essay and the prompt,when you finish. Please write the class meeting time at the top of your essay.
Write an analytical essay in which you express your thoughts carefully, logically and effectively. Provide evidence to support your ideas by using specific examples and details. Do not write on a topic other than the one below.
TOPIC:
In an article in the Los Angeles Times on January 13, 2014 titled "Growing up in prison", Elizabeth Calvin discusses Edel Gonzalez, a 38 year old prison inmate from California who was "sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole" at age 16 for his role in a murder. Edel Gonzalez was with two adults when the three tried to steal a car. One of the adults shot and killed the driver whose car they were attempting to steal. Although Gonzalez did not do the shooting, he was convicted of murder for the role he played. A law which went into effect last year lets "judges review the cases of youths who were in effect sentenced to die in prison" (A13).
On the other hand, Ashley Hayes, in her online CNN article of 12/13/13 titled "'Affluenza': Is it real?", discusses the case of 16 year old Ethan Couch. Ethan Couch was driving with a blood alcohol level of "0.24, three times the legal limit for someone of legal drinking age" when he hit and killed four people in June, 2013. Couch's attorneys argued that his condition, which they termed "affluenza", "stemmed from having wealthy privileged parents who never set limits on him." The judge did not sentence Couch to jail time, but rather to 10 years' probation. Couch was to enter an alcohol treatment facility, also.
Explain to what extent young people's economic status can influence their jail/prison sentences. You may also want to discuss whether you agree or disagree with sentencing a minor to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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The levels of economic status do indeed affect the incarceration rates of young people. Even though, judges is ought to be fair and without fear this is not the case. People from poorer areas commit more crime relative to their population, and this is mostly because of social learning and social disorganization, this creates the notion that young poorer people are less likely to reform. Another dimension is that there is racial bias where African American and Hispanic young males live in inner cities and likely to be suspected of crime. It is no coincidence that when two young people commit crime their socio economic status does influence judgment and biasness in judgment. The middle and upper class people violate various laws, but their crimes carry lighter sentences. Even though, some may argue that those who commit more violent crimes should be duly punished, there is no mention that for the same crime social status affects sentencing.
American prison rates ...