The American Legislative Exchange Council is an organization that crafts policies to push for a neo-conservative agenda. This organization is responsible for drafting pieces of legislation like SB 1070 in Arizona and a variety of state's dismissal of ObamaCare. Issue Areas Choose one of the issue areas above. Find a piece of legislation that you want to write about and answer the following questions.
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After reading Corrupting Justice: A Primer for LGBT Communities on Racism, Violence, Human Degradation & the Prison Industrial Complex answer two of the following questions.
After reviewing our lecture notes - watch this video of author and activist Chriss Crass. Crass is a self described feminist and anti-racist scholar. He works to eradicate sexism and racism in our society. Along with that comes oppressive economic systems, like capitalism. According to Crass (and others), capitalism is a part of the larger problem that has framed and created the root causes and potential beneficiaries of our social divisions. In your blog respond to the questions below.
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In 1994, California voters enacted the “Three Strikes and You're Out” law in response to the tragic murders of Kimber Reynolds and Polly Klass. The law imposed a life sentence for almost any crime, no matter how minor, if the defendant had two prior convictions for crimes defined as serious or violent by the California Penal Code.
According to official ballot materials promoting the original Three Strikes law, the sentencing scheme was intended to “keep murders, rapists, and child molesters behind bars, where they belong.” However, today, more than half of inmates sentenced under the law are serving sentences for nonviolent crimes. In 2012 - California voters made the decision to reduce the penalties for nonviolent criminals. Learn more below. Ballot Language Proposition 36, a Change in the "Three Strikes Law" Initiative, was on the November 6, 2012 ballot as an initiated state statute , where it was approved.[1] Proposition 36 modifies elements of California's "Three Strikes" Law , which was approved by the state's voters in 1994. In 2004, voters rejected Proposition 66 , which like the 2012 measure was an attempt to change some aspects of the original "Three Strikes" Law Proposition 36:
Altogether, about 8,800 prisoners are currently serving life terms in California prisons under the 1994 law.[4] 24 states have a "Three Strikes"-type law.[4] Three Strikes Law - The Basics November 2012 Ballot Initiative - Prop 36 Cruel and Unusual Punishment Reform of the Three Strikes Law The Committee for Three Strikes Reform California Criminal Law Observer What cultural and social factors does Alexander describe that cause Americans to deny the fact of the biased nature of mass incarceration against people of color? How does this denial benefit or harm society? How do ballot initiatives like Prop 36 relate to the arguments made in The New Jim Crow. Requirements for BLOG POSTS
Learn more about the case above. How does Marissa Alexanders case relate to what you learned in The New Jim Crow.
Compare the “Old Jim Crow” system to the “New Jim Crow” system. What similarities? What differences? Purposes? Methods? Describe how we got here. American's history of racial caste systems has evolved from Slavery to Jim Crow to Mass Incarceration. This history reveals, at every transitional state, the tactics used to employ a racial hierarchy in the American political spectrum. What did you learn from Alexander that affirms or negates the statement above? How does this relate to the administration of the law? Requirements for BLOG POSTS
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JS 132 Students
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