President Obama Neglected to Address Criminal Justice System Reform and Mass Incarceration in his 2011 State of the Union Address

As a country in economic turmoil waited with baited breath to hear President Obama’s State of the Union Address, the 2.4 million people that are incarcerated across the country in jails and prisons went about business as usual. The anticipation of hearing the well publicized problems plaguing the nation such as soaring gas prices, unemployment, the attempt to repeal health care, our constant interest in renewable energy and even the plans of addressing illegal immigration last year was expected. The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the innovative drilling technique to rescue the Chilean miners was very well applauded, as expected.

President Obama neglected to address the not so highly publicized committee meetings with his appointed Attorney General Eric Holder, and plans for solutions to help re-integrate ex-offenders back into society. While as unintentional as it may have been for the President’s comments regarding Michael Vick and his deserving of a second chance, he could have taken a direct approach to address the issue of mass incarceration, the lack of opportunities for people returning to society in order to become productive citizens, the effects that this is having on the rate of recidivism and his plans to implement change.

Within the last five years this country has seen numerous cases overturned by DNA evidence as well as prosecutorial misconduct. Texas has a high rate of cases overturned and the Attorney General has yet to start an investigation as to why so many cases are being overturned from the same state and also several in one particular county. Texas judges are also known to hand out lengthy sentences, at their discretion, for crimes in other states that would receive about a third as much time or less.

The highly profiled case of The Scott Sisters, Jamie & Gladys, out of Mississippi, is just one in a history of criminal justice corruption.  Their recent release, granted conditionally by Governor Haley Barbour, and now his pardoning of over 200 ex-offenders, some of them for violent crimes, put the spotlight on the state with an investigation to clear allegations of collusion and corruption.

In 2010, the United States witnessed action film star Wesley Snipes get sentenced to prison after being convicted of misdemeanors in a federal case of tax evasion. Snipes and his attorney have called for a federal investigation of the prosecutor and other parties involved. President Obama should implement policies to insure that justice is equal across the board and across the country.

Millions of Americans are affected by the inconsistencies of the criminal justice system from police treatment and profiling to unfair trials and sentencing to an overwhelming need for prison reform. These issues affect Caucasian-Americans, Latino- Americans and African-Americans. The recent death penalty fiasco in State of Georgia Prison with the Troy Davis Case, the largest protested execution in the history of the United States, is compelling evidence that this issue plagues the African American communities deeply.

President Obama should have addressed the millions of family members, activists, organizations and attorneys who fight for those on a daily basis who are dealt with unjustly by the system or have been wrongly incarcerated.  President Obama should have given a call to action to Congress to create legislature for effective investigations into federal and state court systems regarding unfair and inconsistent treatment. President Obama neglected to address this often forgotten part of America.

Jenny Triplett is co-Editor-in-Chief of Prisonworld Magazine which is published by Dawah International, LLC, a multimedia company. She is co-host and co-producer of the weekly radio show the Prisonworld Radio Hour.  She is a requested speaker for correctional facilities, non-profit organizations, schools, radio and TV shows and print magazines. She and her husband Rufus are Ebony Magazine’s “Couple of the Year.” For more information log onto www.prisonworldmagazine.com or call 678-233-8286.