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he United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, even though the number of our citizens behind bars has reached its lowest point since 1995. We currently have an estimated 639 inmates per 100,000 people, or 13% higher than the rate of the next closest country (El Salvador: 564 inmates per every 100,000 people). While these statistics display the numbers of those placed into the incarceration system, what we do not see is the number of family members of these inmates who are also affected by this system. I sat down with UW-Madison senior, Jasmyne Short, to talk about her experiences with the U.S. incarceration system.
E: Could you tell me about yourself, your childhood and about your journey to UWMadison? J: “I’m a senior graduating with a degree
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in social work, originally from Racine, WI. I was raised in a single parent home by my mom; I have three sisters but only one lived with me growing up. I am firstgen, so I applied to 17 colleges, because I didn’t know if I wanted to go to a small college or big college or in-state, out of state. I ended up being blessed enough to get a fully funded scholarship to attend UW. My dad has been in and out of prison, jail or other institutions throughout my life. We never lived together that I can remember, and my mom and him haven’t been in a relationship since I was a young child. He does struggle with alcoholism, and so a lot of his charges are in relation to drunk driving. So, I’ve always been interested in the criminal justice system. I think research is really important and learning how to work with our clients and fix the system. I feel like my dad needs treatment more than anything instead of
punishment.” E: What was the most challenging part of your childhood/growing up? J: “I think seeing other people have parents who could, like, support them and go to things. My mom tried her best, but she did work a lot, and so just being told that I can’t have some things because we don’t have money for it and thinking about people who have two parents that are able to support them. I think as a kid, having to explain to people at school, like if they would ask questions like “why have I never met your dad?” or things regarding that. I think also, now that I’m an adult, it’s difficult when trying to work with this population and be in school. He was just released last March, he almost hit a year, and recently got picked up again. And so, trying to figure out how to get in contact with him, how to contact his lawyer, his
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P.O. and stuff like that has been stressful.” E: Are there ever times where you have felt disconnected from your peers because of your experiences with the incarceration system? J: “Yeah, I think just, mostly in classes that we talk about the system and stuff, because it affects me personally, I think I look at it in a different way. Also, just like when we are talking about these things or having discussions, we don’t talk about the effects it has on the caregiver or the children. We focus a lot about the person who has been in jail or prison and sometimes we tend to forget about the people who are affected that are on the outside. And so, I think without having that background, a lot of people just blow over it and then forget that it has long lasting effects on kids who are becoming adults and what they see their parents do. When it’s a family member, you kind of see it in a different way.” E: As an individual who has a high degree of knowledge about the American incarceration system, what are your thoughts on it as a complex institution? J: “Like I said, I think it needs to be reformed in that it shouldn’t be based on punishment as much. A lot of people are returning back into the community after they’ve been in prison or jail, and so I have
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talked to my dad and other people that have been in prison that it’s a place that is supposed to break you, destroy you. It is not supposed to help you reinvent yourself. Some people do come out as better people, and have had that chance to have the most time they’ve ever had in the world to work on themselves. But it’s a very depressing, isolated place to be. I think that we need to reform it in a way to position people to be better people once they are released. More intervention programming, more resources and support. I feel like it’s crazy that my dad’s on his sixth or seventh offense with drunk driving, and there still hasn’t been any discussion about treatment, because we obviously see what the issue is.” Jasmyne demonstrates both the positive and negative effects the criminal justice system can have on family members of those incarcerated. Once graduating, she is pursuing a masters degree in social work, focusing on children and families. In the future, she hopes to become a mental health technician, taking her past experiences and using them to help children who also have incarcerated parents.
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“How then is it fair game when some participants have less opportunities and experience than others?...People say that if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything, meanwhile, the wealthy have greater access to every opportunity.” -Aarushi Mutreja, Catching Fire
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