Fixing America's ‘broken system' of criminal justice
For the first time in US history, the president visited to a federal prison. The trip was part of a broader mission by Barack Obama to fix what he described as "a broken system" of criminal justice in the United States.
Days before his tour of the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, the White House granted clemency to 46-non-violent drug offenders who had already served 10 years behind bars. And in a speech at theNAACP, the country's oldest and largest civil rights organisation, Obama highlighted the deep racial disparities that have led to the disproportionate incarceration of African-Americans and Latinos. He also called for a cultural shift when it comes to how the US deals with prisons and prisoners.
So how ‘broken' is the system?
The United States has the world's highest incarceration rate. Federal prisons are at 130 per cent capacity, with half of their population jailed for drug offenses. The United States spends $80 billion on keeping people incarcerated. And while crime rates have steadily declined over the past three decades, the prison population has quadrupled since 1980, with African-Americans and Latinos making up 60 per cent of prisoners.
With strong bipartisan support, Obama has requested sweeping criminal justice reforms which include reducing or eliminating mandatory sentences; changes to prisons to reduce overcrowding, abuse and the use of solitary confinement; increasing programmes that help with job training and drug treatment; and restoring voting rights to former offenders.
So are Obama's reform plans the answer to this "broken" criminal justice system? Join our conversation at 19:30 GMT.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
The Ark
The Ark takes place 100 years in the future when planetary colonization missions have begun as a necessity to help secure the survival of the human race. The first of these missions on a spacecraft known as Ark One encounters a catastrophic event causing massive destruction and loss of life. With more than a year left to go before reaching their target planet, a lack of life-sustaining supplies and loss of leadership, the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to stay on course and survive.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is set in the 32nd century, a time period in the far-future of the Star Trek franchise where Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets are recovering from a cataclysmic event, as depicted in Star Trek: Discovery. Indroduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
