CJ: 391 Introduction

    •  I am about to begin my senior year at Wichita State University this fall. Next spring I plan on receiving my B.A. in Political Science and Criminal Justice. I have been at WSU since August 2019, I begin my post-secondary career at Hutchinson Community College, which I attended for two years, getting an associates degree along the way. 
    • Achieving a higher education is important to me as I believe it will bring me opportunities that I could not have without it. I am a first-generation college student and plan on setting a foundation that my younger siblings can follow. 
    • When I am not studying or in class, I serve my community by volunteering for various things. I am a big in Big Brothers Big Sisters and participate in a board of zoning appeals for my county. I also work a part-time job at Cargill, a grain elevator where I do various tasks, such as rail loading and grain receiving during harvest. 
    • During my time at Hutchinson Community College, I participated in a walk-a-long at the Hutchinson correctional facility. I spent time at the Maximum, medium and minimum security facilities. I had the chance to learn routines and various tactics that correction officers used when facing various challenges. By taking this class, I hope I am able to expand my knowledge of what I know so far of the correctional system.  
    • Some of the things I like include pizza, watching comic book movies, spending time with my girlfriend, and traveling to new places. 
Location: Salina, KS, USA

Comments

  1. Dr. B.July 3, 2020 at 10:44 AM

    Welcome to CJ 391! Thanks for sharing about your experience as a first gen student. Thats great!

    BBBS is an awesome program! I volunteer when I was an undergrad, too.

    Great, you already have some insight on what a prison looks and feels like. Keep that in mind throughout the class.

    Pizza is always great. What's your favorite comic book or character?

    -Dr. B.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post 5

One's rights are limited significantly once incarcerated. Every citizen has constitutional rights protected by the federal government, however, some of these rights do not extend or are limited for prisoners. Some of these limited rights are listed under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 13th, and 14th Amendments. Some other collateral consequences of being incarcerated are impaired access to or enjoyment of, the ordinary rights and benefits associated with citizenship or residence which include not being allowed to vote, losing your driver's license, or having restrictions on where you can live. There is also impaired economic opportunities as many employers will not hire convicted felons.  The 8th amendment is a right against cruel and unusual punishment, excessive fines, and bail. The 13th amendment is the abolishment of slavery. The eight amendment affects prisoners against cruel and unusual punishment, such as being executed through the electric chair for capital punishment. It...
Read more

Blog Post 2

Image
My theories at the foundation of my correctional system would be rehabilitation, incapacitation, and deterrence. Rehabilitation provides the client with skills, norms, and attitudes that will help them be law-abiding. This theory also targets the root causes of crime such as mental health and poverty. As a developed country, there is no reason we should have the highest incarceration rate. For these reasons, we must follow the lead of other developed countries that have taken a more rehabilitative approach.  For other more violent offenses, however, such as murder, rape, and kidnapping should be met with harsher sentences. By locking these offenders away from the community, we are protecting society. Incapacitation is defined as physically locking people up so they can't physically harm the community. Hopefully, along the way, we deter other individuals from committing the same crimes through the correctional theory of deterrence. Deterrence uses the threat of punishment to deter o...
Read more

Blog Post 3

Image
The sentencing process in the U.S. struggles at achieving equity, as those in prison tend to be primarily young men, disproportionately people of color, disproportionately poor, and have low educational attainment. Sentencing structures in the U.S. are impacted by aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances. Front-end-reforms limit judicial discretion and back-end reforms limit the reduction of a sentence once they are placed in prison. Sentencing guidelines associated with drug offenses have contributed to the mass incarceration of people of color.  Some of the issues with the pre-trial process such as bail and jail is that bail can be expensive. Those who cannot afford bail must stay in jail. This primarily affects impoverished groups such as people of color. Jails are places intended to house those awaiting trial, some problems associated with jail are the high number of individuals with mental illness. The rate of mental illness among those in jail is three times higher th...
Read more