Americ Land Of The Incarcerated - 1296 Words

America: Land of the Incarcerated Connor Murphy Mesa Community College In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote the poem The Star Spangled Banner after witnessing the attack on Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy in the War of 1812. The poem was sang to the tune of a well-known British song and eventually, Key’s once amateur patriotic poem became the United States national anthem in which the lyrics strongly symbolize our country’s perseverance and freedom. The Star Spangled Banner can be heard at a variety gatherings such as official military functions and sporting events where celebrity singers often display impressive vocal talent to emphasize the final and most infamous line of the song â€Å"O er the land of the free and†¦show more content†¦In addition, there are approximately 2,240,000 prisoners in penal institutions in the United States, which represents more than 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population (Walmsley 2013). According to a publication from National Council of Crime and Delinquency, the United King dom’s incarceration rate is only 145 per 100,000 people which is roughly five times less compared to America. Considering that common American law is derived by English law, it is appalling the find such a deviation between the two countries in their imprisonment rates. One significant factor to the United States outrageously high incarceration rate is the increasing trend of legislatures adding new criminal offenses to criminal codes. For an example, in an attempt to control crime in the 70s and 80s, lawmakers started passing laws, which increased the amount of criminal acts along with establishing harsh sentences. Many criminal offenses have mandatory minimum sentences that requires the judge to sentence the offender for the required minimum incarceration period stated in the penal code and does not allow the judge to use their own discretion to reduce, suspend, or even waive the sentence - if it was believed to be found in the best interest for both the public and offender . In addition to the legislative trend of increasing the amount of criminal offenses, the Bureau of Justice Statistic states in a report that from 1980, the