Jay-Z wrote an op-ed for the New York Times this week detailing the injustices of the parole system, using recently incarcerated rapper Meek Mill as the prime example of a corrupt system.
"Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence. Now he’s 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. For about a decade, he’s been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside."
"As of 2015, one-third of the 4.65 million Americans who were on some form of parole or probation were black," Hov went on to say, detailing a systemic attempt to lock people of color behind bars. "Instead of a second chance, probation ends up being a landmine, with a random misstep bringing consequences greater than the crime. Philadelphia will have to spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to keep him locked up."
This is not untrue for most cities, for example, the taxpayers of New York spend more than $150k a year per inmate on Rikers Island. Despite the taxpayers paying ridiculous amounts of money, the prison industrial complex uses inmate labor to mass produce goods for various retail and service giants at a fraction of the cost, while reaping all of the capital gains. Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
Read a snippet of the full op-ed here:
This month Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating his probation. #FreeMeek hashtags have sprung up, and hundreds of his fans rallied near City Hall in Philadelphia to protest the ruling.
On the surface, this may look like the story of yet another criminal rapper who didn’t smarten up and is back where he started. But consider this: Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence. Now he’s 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. For about a decade, he’s been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside.
What’s happening to Meek Mill is just one example of how our criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day. I saw this up close when I was growing up in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s. Instead of a second chance, probation ends up being a landmine, with a random misstep bringing consequences greater than the crime. A person on probation can end up in jail over a technical violation like missing a curfew.
Source: nytimes.com
