How America's justice system is rigged against the poor

There are invisible cages that extend far beyond prison walls.
Every year, more than 600,000 individuals are freed from America’s jails and prisons.
But many of America’s formerly incarcerated people face numerous obstacles when integrating back into public life once free, according to Wes Caines and his former colleagues Scott Hechinger and Hannah McCrea at Brooklyn Defender Services, a public defender service in New York City.
Former prisoners are routinely denied employment, housing, education, and other benefits that would help ease their integration into life on the outside, Caines says.
For more read our Q&A with Wes Caines where he discusses his personal story of life after prison: bit.ly/2mNekgk
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[@bigboi5636]

you know there is a problem with the justice system when a killer gets to rejoin society, but someone who committed a petty crime does not

[@zacharymalone9901]

You know the guy that is talking in this video was involved in killing someone right? 😅

[@waaa44]

@zachary wait WHAT?

[@kittygirl0872]

Society is just one big cult

[@Robbie1308]

The fact that some people still don't know this is really scary The system works against you if you are poor Nothing new

[@Bradman175]

First obvious proof. Money.

[@genuinepenguinproductions4547]

robbie498 people with money don't understand why poor people can't escape the cycle.

[@hex8787]

Robert Patch So that makes it all better right?

[@Togher01]

And we should keep saying ti until everyone knows. The system is never going to be perfect but we have to try and make it better.

[@Kenshinxxx0019]

MANTLE when did he say black

[@Delta_Aves]

There's a reason the U.S has the highest prison population. Prisoners are profitable, especially in private prisons. Not to mention profits have been used to sway prosecutors or judges to convict those of non violent or low-grade crimes and have them subjected to harsh punishment, such as the Kids For Cash Scandal. I don't know about federal prison, but private prisons are especially brutal in dehumanizing prisoners and juveniles as young as 13. Their goal isn't to rehabilitate inmates, but to generate and maintain the highest profits through them. They do this by cutting costs, such as security, food, and healthcare and generating arbitrary laws and rule to get more convicted. They have driven the mass incarceration in the U.S sky high, harming families, communities and state governments. With the stocks booming since Trump won the election, private prisons around the country will be opening their gates for immigrants, and then closing them forever. U.S corporations have been financially exploiting anything they see as profitable, but this should be off limits. It basically says that your very lives and futures aren't as important as the money they can make off of you. The whole "don't do the crime if you can't do the time," idea means absolutely nothing in these circumstances. They'll find any excuse to put you away.

[@nickys5578]

Land of the imprisoned and the Home of the Silent "When people get hurt, they learn to hate and want revenge. But when we call our vengeance Justice, that Justice just breeds more revenge and it becomes a chain of hatred" We have NO JUSTICE SYSTEM. The people hurt NEVER get anything from a conviction but cops and private prisons get property and a slave with no rights that anyone will stand up for. If you just want revenge then that is on you and we should not have a revenge system. Many people take deals as the preliminaries can take years and the whole time everything you are "charged" with is public and only the cops get to tell their side of the story. You are guilty until you pay for your innocents. Many law enforcers throw as much as they can and then some at anyone just so they burn out and will make a plea brain for just a few charges. Here is how the "justice" system works. Police are for profit with civil forfeitures (they take your property anything they want and require NO CONVICTION but require an expensive lawyer to get your stuff back), Mug shot and fingerprints posted to public (does not require conviction) No laws truly protecting you or you mug shot private sites take that information and refuse to take it down even if you have had charges dropped Profit bail system (anyone can pay 10% to a bonds man and bail you out usually for a couple hundred) NO PROVIDED REPRESENTATION!! the court system does not use ANY legal form of accurate income such as pay stubs w-2 tax forms or last year’s taxes. Every other government aid and support form financial aid to food stamps uses these forms. Require legal representation. Just try to go to court even during the preliminaries without a lawyer they will arrest you for contempt of court. Another charge and another bail amount If you don't pay bail you get to set in a jail house which is not a prison and here in Oklahoma what you get to eat is a bologna sandwich no sauces like ketchup you just get bread and bologna for food AND they can hold you during the entire preliminary which can take YEARS!!! Restitution forced to be paid even if not convicted it is often a legal bribe to get them to drop charges. This is of course after they have harassed you and cage you for years and make you lose your job and post everything to the public with only their side of the story public. SHOWS up on BACKGROUND CHECKS BEFORE YOU ARE CONVICTED!! Keeps you from getting a job. Charges remain on you record EVEN if you are proven innocent the charge will still remain on your record as a charge and if you think background checks won't be affected you’re a fool. I have seen nurses beat a meth charge and still be denied employment because of a "charge" from YEARS ago. and good luck suing as you need to pay your lawyer and all court fees and wait years for the "process" to work and all because of a few seconds it takes for a cop to arrest you. The DA can UP your charges to a felony without being there and this also can up your bail even if you have paid bail it can go up and a warrant can be put out. Prisons have private sectors that are known for lengthening sentences for profit by having cheap labor and government funds. Contracts made with private prison systems by the government have rules that if the government cannot supply them with enough inmate WE pay THEM in fees for braking the contract and make up for the difference they lost effectively not allowing crime rates to fall. Land of the imprisoned And the Home of the Silent

[@isidoreaerys8745]

Nicky s yes. Truth. Thankyou for explaining it all so well. Here in Nevada too after over a week in jail including 3 nights spent in solitary confinement with no access to a bathroom. The Henderson (exurb of las Vegas) jail too feeds you bologna sandwiches ( with canned peaches). I was greatful just to eat till I found out they were billing the tax payers for what the menu called “artisanal Deli sandwich with fresh fruit”. 😟 they tell you can have a preliminary hearing if you wish for a fair trial to fight the charges. But you will have to wait two weeks, time, which will be spent in jail. (Unless you are rich and can pay the bribe...I mean- Bail) Or you can plead guilty to a plea bargain and serve a “suspended sentence” paying the court system and doing unpaid labor -and be released. For this hardly anyone actually is able to exercise their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial. And millions find themselves returned to poverty with even less ability to find a job. Burdened now with the legal coercion to perform unpaid labor. Ie. slavery.

[@elitesturmgewehr8780]

Yeah like Beyond Straight Scared uses to make money by scaring little kids

[@justinrabbitt9492]

So true.

[@Ardjano234]

America, where everything is commercialised if possible

[@SiyabongaAfrica]

"A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it's lowest ones" - Nelson Mandela. South Africa may not be perfect but even our prisoners have the right to vote. Denying those who have served their debt to society their constitutional rights is a recipe for disaster. If serving prison time is an amends of sorts then released prisoners should have the opportunity to pursue a normal life.

[@bobbinsthethird]

Compare the crime rates of South Africa and Japan, who treats their criminal populations as harshly as the US. How is treating the lowest citizens with respect helping South Africa?

[@Misanthropic_hellhound]

Siyabonga Africa our "justice" system is a joke

[@zulthyr1852]

Yep. I got a link what should the current American flag be cuz its prison system. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Flag_of_the_German_Reich_%281935%E2%80%931945%29.svg

[@malcite]

Here in Norway you can vote even when you are a prisoner. To my knowledge, the only case where you cannot vote is for high treason against the country and I believe that was only for 10 years. Once those 10 years where up you could vote again. As for prisoners, well I can only suggest you look up a few of the many videos on norwegian prisons. None of them are barbaric despite at least one of them being a case of shipping prisoners to an island to serve out their time with only fellow convicts as your nearest neighbors. Kinda like a nice variety of alcatraz in a way.

[@nuzayerov]

@@bobbinsthethird , but you don't talk about how the justice system in Austria, Norway, Denmark ,Belgium, etc worked.

[@AmariSali]

I love how everyone is talking about, "Don't do the crime, if you don't want to do the time." You do realize the point of the video is that it becomes your whole life you are making up for one mistake right? Hell, in this day and age, you can be wrongly convicted and just because your name pops up in news articles when they do a background check it can screw you over for life. Plus, what if you did do the crime? Does that mean you should be doomed to struggle for the rest of your life? Why, as a country, we are so pro-punishment and care very little about rehabilitation? Either way, as tax payers, it will come out of our pocket. One method does nothing for the offender and sets them up to be habitual offenders, the homeless people you ignore on the streets, or those who live the rest of their life in misery with a low paying job and no real ladder to get out of the hole. Meanwhile, rehabilitation would actually lead to opportunity. Because, let's face it, most crimes aren't because the person was bad but their environment lacked opportunity. This is especially the case for those who live in urban populations where lack of funding meant your high school diploma truly did mean nothing. Not just because it is a certificate of attendance, more than anything, but it barely prepared you for community college. I mean, I get everyone feels as if, if it doesn't affect you, doesn't deal with your loved ones, why should you care? Well, realize that these people, or their descendants, may end up interacting or part of your family. So you're better off investing in their future rather than dealing with the only means they were given to survive.

[@user-tg6ug6nc2o]

Most crimes are because people lack opportunity? You have to be joking. Almost everyone in my extended family moved from the Soviet Union to the US around 20 years ago. None. And I mean none of the ones born in the USSR were incarcerated. The individuals who couldn't speak English, didn't have applicable educations, and couldn't find jobs were not sent to prison. In fact, they're ALL in the middle and upper classes. The only people that became part of the system were the ones born in the US, raised in the US, and that had the most opportunities in the land of opportunity. Opportunity comes to those who seek it.

[@bobbinsthethird]

You're acting as though it's a single mistake that leads up to these crimes. You're not one mistake away from robbing a liquor store. You don't see stories about office workers who make "one mistake" and rob the local 7-11. It's a series of mistakes.

[@wwefanman1000]

JC Denton no but let say you were convected for sexual assault. while doing your time they find out you didn't do it. that charge is still on your record employers are still going to see that and most times you wouldn't even get an interview to explain your case. how are you going to provide for your family with no job? that's why this video is made so it can bring awareness to people that there is life after you do the time and prison is suppose to rehabilitate people back into society not hold and babysit adults.

[@user-tg6ug6nc2o]

+wwefanman1000 What you bring up is a good point, but irrelevant to the video and the point it was trying to make.

[@bbw69]

Amari Sali You are right about wrongfully convicted people but to those that have actually committed a crime I have no pity. There are people who are poor and have no opportunities but don't become criminals.

[@veridianroots]

Can someone explain how they can legally say that someone can't vote just because they committed a crime (no matter how "small"?) Isn't that discrimination and taking basic rights of citizens?

[@flyingsnail6079]

veridian roots They also take away 2nd amendment rights as well.

[@YTBraxxGaming]

veridian roots if you break a law, you become property of the state and lose your rights. The only right prisoners have is to not be subjected to cruel or unusual punishment

[@veridianroots]

well that all sounds to me like it needs changing

[@googlit9695]

Braxx nononononononononononono, that is EXACTLY what they said when people campaigned to free slaves. I'm not saying that they should be free, but they are NOT property.

[@YTBraxxGaming]

Well that's kinda the point. When someone is incarcerated for committing a crime they become a "slave to the state". That's why there's chain gangs of prisoners picking up trash by highways, and why prisoners are put to work making license plates. They work for free and have no rights, so yes you are correct, prisoners are slaves

[@TenaciousDM]

Eye opening video, unsurprising comments.

[@nickys5578]

THEY DON'T PROVIDE YOU AN ATTORNEY LIKE YOU THINK!!! I was rushing my grandfather to the hospital on the phone with them and my grandfather had taken 40x his medication and started showing signs he was going into a sezer he has had 3 strokes in one month and has bleeding on the brain. they arrested me at gunpoint threatened to impound my car and said I stole the tags they would not answer me when I asked if my grandfather was taken to the hospital they threatened to charge me with 15 felonies. They laughed at me because I had never even had a traffic ticket. my grandfather sold some collectable coins to pay $200 dollars to a bondsman to bail me out. That bail was enough to determine that I could pay for my own lawyer. all the lawyers because I was being charged with one felony and one misdemeanor wanted $3000 up front I called so many lawyers and if I showed up without one they would arrest me again and charge me with contempt for wasting the courts time. YES IN THE USA IN OKLAHOMA. the judge even laughed at a man who showed up without a lawyer and said something along the lines of "you should have thought of that before" mean while the preliminary is allowed to take 3 years and this is all before any trials!!! meanwhile I was fired and cannot get a job even at mcdonalds because I am seen as a threat to management once the background check comes back. it has already been 8 months and I have tried to kill my self 6 times by hanging and if you want proof I can show you my math of the drop height needed to break my own neck and we are't even at trial. Meanwhile cops (12 cops) get to sleep with 12 year old in washing ton shoot fathers in front of their 5 year old daughters and get away with nothing happening other than a little probation then it is wiped from their records. what ever happened to give me liberty or give me death

[@siddhantdesai6376]

Like he said, the court determined that he was capable of affording an attorney because of being bailed out by his grandfather. Once they do that, they don't listen to anything else. You would be blind not to see how the criminal justice system is rigged against the poor and people of color in the US.

[@current3109]

@@siddhantdesai6376 ALL PEOPLE in general

[@yellowroadtheater-musicfor6626]

Prison should be a rehab as a much as a punishment

[@zuffin1864]

I hope more people can see that prisoners are more than crime-doer. They are humans first, and humans are not stagnant.

[@Misanthropic_hellhound]

Rubsi unfortunately that won't happen anytime soon

[@quitebad459]

Rubsi agreed. Rehab can also prevent the criminals from repeating the same mistake they made

[@shadow-wolfgaming1737]

For non violent offenders but the media and news papers want to make it like the innocent people killed someone by framing and convicted for something they didn't do

[@holstonmatt]

@@shadow-wolfgaming1737 also dont forget about forced false confessions

[@C4nadian]

We need to reform the justice system.

[@trapbum3788]

AND education system. and political system. and monetary system all need a huge change

[@Zetabloxx1]

TrapBum - YES.

[@g_l_a_d3665]

TrapBum So everything?

[@trapbum3788]

Derp Mcderpson you tell me. .

[@colemankilby9]

*Like my status to change the justice system.*

[@LeGenDxKaOtiK]

To the people that simply say that these people should've never commited crimes in the first place, I agree but you gotta realise that most of these people weren't raised in the same condition that you were. I am Black my mom and dad both are doctors, I always got what I wanted by just asking my parents and I never had to worry about anything for my entire life, I went to good private schools and now I'm going to get my own PhD. And so I never even thought about committing a crime or being violent because I was never put into the conditions for it to happen. But most of these people were raised in crime and poverty striken communities where most of them had very little access to education and other activities with very bad influences and an economic struggle that most of you and I never experienced and that's why you shouldn't shun them for a bad choice they made when they were 18, in addition to that most of these people committed non violent crimes such as drug or gun possession, driving without a license or minor theft. Even if you believe that it doesn't matter do you really think anyone should be shut out of society for their whole entire lives because of one mistake?

[@cardboard87]

FranklinClinton98 I wasn't going to comment because many of these comments just made my eyes roll. Some people are actually whining because there's only black people in the video. Seriously? How many years have we, and other races, have been left out? Lol... Then you have people that honestly think being poor and white = poor and black. And there's people that believe racism 'doesn't exist', or only think racism occurs in certain rural areas. Some are truly blinded by privilege, but that is an entirely different subject altogether that can't be covered in a simple KZbin comment. Anyways, you're absolutely right. We can often overcome obstacles, but all too often, many of us are products of our environment. I was raised in a lower middle class household, so I had opportunities my cousins in 'the hood' didn't have. That is really cool you're pursuing your PhD. I don't have the focus to sit still long enough to pursue a PhD, so I applaud you for sticking to it! I wish there were more portrayals of us blacks doing positive/productive things like what you're doing. We have made great progress, but there are still too many of us being shown in a negative light.

[@YTBraxxGaming]

FranklinClinton98 murders and rapists should be. Everything lesser should just be rehabilitated more than punished

[@LeGenDxKaOtiK]

MANTLE I don't think you understood the video and that's why I think it kinda did a bad job, this animation is about the experience of one black dude who works in a black community and that tells a story of people he helped, so they're black but that's just his experience not a statement that black people are the only victims of the system. If it was a white dude narrating about a white area they would all be white.

[@Catexperimenters]

FranklinClinton98 spoilt

[@carloscordova7873]

Well said.

[@SlytherinShark888]

Don't read the comments.

[@StefFrederick]

too late. :'(

[@user-ez5vq9fd2t]

What did you say?

[@elsiemon]

It's baffling how entrenched the two-tier justice system is, and few people really know about it.

[@21guitarworld]

Animation is dope

[@DimityGirl]

Molly Crabapple has done other cool animation projects as well. Look up the music video for I Have your heart

[@navonmyhand7999]

Yeah

[@saiidkoroma7810]

21guitarworld This Comment shines

[@BrawnyBuddha]

21guitarworld reminds me of kanyes Heard em Say video

[@oh.hey.3561]

+Luis Alberto Pérez Nájera yeah the Afros where a bit off to me...maybe they could have added more detail...

[@jeromechillin5515]

There should be legislation that should give first time NON VIOLENT felons a second chance and seal their records automatically after time is served. That way they can re-enter the work force and live a normal life.

[@danielluby504]

Michael Bell if I'm hiring someone I want to know if they have been to jail and for what.

[@Ecto_42]

Michael Bell Violence is usually a last resort or a mistake someone made when they were young. If prisons would a. offer more reform programs, b. not overcrowd themselves with people who have minor drug charges and could do probation and community service instead, and c. work less as a money making industry for the government and more as a citizen reform system like they're supposed to be, then they'd actually be functionally viable.

[@jeromechillin5515]

Daniel Luby That's why I said non-violent crimes. If a 18 year old got locked up for selling drug, gets out and learns a trade and look for work. You wont hire him despite him being qualified for that position. The crime can be a decade old and he would still be looked at as a criminal that got out yesterday.

[@kutie216]

Michael Bell Or how about people just dont commit felonies?

[@keyboardstalker4784]

oh yeah, how about people just don't commit crimes? and while we're at it, why don't people just get a well paying job? i mean, it seems so simple! oh, and how about if people just stop being poor too?

[@bobbypatton4903]

To anyone thinking "why don't they just not commit crimes?!" Take a moment and reflect if you have ever done something illegal, but got away with it. Now imagine if you had got caught.

[@Ardjano234]

USA: you got weed? Let's ruin your whole life baby Netherlands: police officer casually smokes a joint after work

[@havu-xq4ip]

USA: You don't have weed. We got you. No problem. *Planting weed*

[@current3109]

we’re nothing but a profit to them

[@ShePudding]

When you are convicted of a crime, you are given a punishment by a court of law equal to the severity of your transgression. We, the innocent, free people on the outside, pay for these people for the duration of their punishment- whether it's paying the salary and paperwork of a parol officer, or the basic needs of a prisoner, at thousands of dollars per person per year. The point, theoretically, is to emphasize the severity of their misdeeds and inflict a sort of humane suffering onto them, so those misdeeds are never repeated. So they are "rehabilitated" through guilt and boredom alone, and eventually resume life as a contributing member of society, and do not cause the state nor it's citizens any more suffering. Of course, if their record keeps them from obtaining gainful employment, they are then, again, a burden to the state. If they cannot find affordable housing, or a (responsible) loan for a car, how can they even begin their life again? A lucky man will have a family rich and patient enough to support them through the hard times. A desperate man would turn to illegal means of earning a living- at least to get started. At least to support their own goddamn family, who would take their sorry ass in when they can't even get a job. And once they get caught? We have to pay for their punishment all over again. My point being: if we want to perpetually punish the convicted for the rest of their lives, we are doing so at our own risk. We make their very existence a burden on their families, and put a heavy pressure on them to earn a living outside of the law. We, at the very least, have not created the conditions to allow them to "start again", with anything less than a herculean effort. Perhaps if fewer offenses could result in jail time or if sentences weren't so long, it could result in less crowded jails with more funding and guards, and less inside crime. Perhaps if insisted on anti-discriminatory laws for convicts who have been gainfully employed and clean for X number of months or years, so they could one day have hope of moving up in the world without fearing it would all come crashing down, they would have a powerful reason to grit their teeth for minimum wage untill X amount of time passes. I don't claim to have the answers, but at the very least, this much seems obvious: by perpetually punishing the convicted, we are also hurting our own society.

[@adamtak3128]

So it would be better if we focused on rehabilitation once people go to prison. There would be a low recidivism rate, and we would be spending less tax money on prisons.

[@ShePudding]

Adam Tak: But in the short term, it would be an increase in prisoner spending (and, likely, an increase in taxes for the prisoners' sakes). And there's no way that would fly; not when there are so many other struggling people who can use the government assistance. It might even create an incentive to get caught and go to prison. Homeless? Go to prison. 3 squares a day and an education/psychological assistance to boot, you know? I mean, I totally agree with you. But I think the first, more palatable option would be reducing the amount of prisoners and the duration of their stay, without a drastic cut in prison spending, so we can reinvest in rehabilitating the remaining prisoners. ...Buuut the likelihood of that happening anytime soon... at least within the current political climate... is low. :( It will probably take a bold, liberal state to take charge, like it did with slavery, minority rights and drug control. Hopefully we'll see it in our lifetimes... hopefully it's attempted in good faith, and not with half-measures. We'll see

[@insect212]

So instead of spending a tiny bit of money to pay for better rehabilitation we should pay massive amounts of money to pay for people when they wind up in jail again?

[@clintmartin4960]

i would agree that the problem really stems from the law for the crimes in the first place. They say how there should be no discrimination for finding jobs after prison but look at it from a logical point of view of an employer, if you have 10 people apply for a simple job say working at a fast food restaurant that requires almost no previous skills or experience, then why would you ever choose the one that has a criminal record of any kind over someone with a clean record? (that is all other factors being equal).

[@ShePudding]

Brock J Exactly, Brock J. If we were to have better (or really, any) work-based programs, mental services and safety in well-maintained prisons, one would hope it would lead to a culture of *actual* rehabilitation. But these programs don't come cheap. On the outside, we call them "trade schools", "psychologists" and "personal security"- and most of these things cost so much money that the poor would either have to take out a loan to make use of them, or never use them at all. (Unless you go to the really, really crappy ones) And if we don't offer these services on the outside, to those who abide by the law and trust in the system, it is almost a betrayal to offer them for "free" to convicted felons. It could also makes it more worthwhile to become a convicted criminal (and get these benefits) than to stay clean and work part time/minimum wage in a bad neighborhood. That is why I believe the path forward is to reduce the amount to non-violent, 1st time crimes that result in jail sentences, and using the savings, reinvest in the remaining prison and parol population. That way, even if you wanted commit a crime just to get into those programs, you would find yourself unable to do so unless you commit a truly heinous act. (And contrary to the movies, people are not prone to kill for funzies, and most violent crime of any sort stays in a family). That way, the average citizen does not get taxed more, and gets to keep what services their state already offers without worrying it will get slashed for a criminal's sake. At the same time, it would give the criminal something to focus on day in and day out, and take pride in, in a safe(-er) environment where those around you is also being pushed to focus on what comes after prison. (Come to think of it, it could also single out the trouble makers alot easier, as they would be the ones not attending class/seeing a counselor while they wheel, deal and plot. That sort of activity gets harder to pull off when you have somewhere to be, and guards to make sure you get there)

[@CubeMatz]

The time in prison should not just be there to punish someone who has done wrong, it should also prepare them to reintegrate them into society as a usefull member to the public.

[@victorvaldez6785]

I don't understand, 2k people voted thumbs down on the video? The presenter was very accurate and spoke very well not blaming political parties or anyone in specific for the problems in the justice system and we even further by proposing solutions. What do people want?

[@shootthetiki6]

It wasn't anything political, it was the fact it only presented black people as being the only ones having to deal with this problem, when we all know that is so far from being true.

[@iamtayful]

West Coast Highways but if this video had only white people, then those same people probably wouldn't say anything and would defend it by saying how we shouldn't focus on color. the point of the video was not about race but thats the first thing they see about these men and thats sad asf

[@shootthetiki6]

It's indeed sad to see someone of different race be punished more harshly than the rest, blacks especially.

[@bobbinsthethird]

Because it had nothing to do with poor people and everything to do with black people.

[@annaclares3318]

The reason that some people voted this video down is because they don't agree with the message that was presented in it. Just because the actual video never said the words "liberal" or "conservative" does not mean that it was not implying a bias towards a "left" way of thinking or a "right" way of thinking. This video definitely had liberal leanings, and that's why (some) people voted it down. Vox is extremely liberal, and many people don't know that because they think that just because those aforementioned words were not said, Vox must not have a political bias. Bottom line: nearly every video has an agenda, and in this case, it was to promote a liberal's ideal justice system.

[@squadfam4807]

i love how one thousand people disliked this, the idea of economic inequality is now controversial

[@jangamaster8677]

You're pathetic

[@squadfam4807]

JangaMaster great opener i'm soaking wet

[@bobbinsthethird]

Also, this video has nothing to do with poor people, and everything to do with ex convicts.

[@squadfam4807]

JC Denton but the reason why it's givin this title is because poor people have it much worse, then rich people

[@siddhantdesai6376]

Again dumbass, the point is that many of them don't break any laws. Racial discriminations and corporate greed lead to many convictions. Many who go to jail are innocent and are forced to take plea bargains, etc. Many cant afford competent attorneys and are convicted without much evidence.

[@ThePooper3000]

Better title: How America's justice system is rigged against ex-convicts

[@EmilyExplosion27]

Perhaps, but there is definitely an economic class bias. If you have a lot of money or own a home/have family that owns a home, you aren't going to be homeless as a result of incarceration. If you are poor and rent, you can be evicted and denied affordable housing. If you don't have high-level contacts who can employ you/vouch for you to a potential employer, the "have you ever been convicted of a crime" box on job applications is going to leave you unemployed. You are more likely to have to turn back to crime (petty, violent, drug, whatever) as a means to get by.

[@NiteMaster117]

EmilyExplosion27 What you are describing isn't Class bias its realism and a matter of wealth. If a rich person (or even middle class) were to commit a serious crime (not a misdemeanor) and they are found guilty they will be doing hard time no amount of riches will help you. If you are poor and commit a serious crime and are found guilty the same applies. Fo people who cant afford misdemeanors and as a result are detained it is no one else's fault but their's for their personal irresponsibility.

[@l0re811]

Nonsense. 99% of all death row convicts are poor and not a single US citizen making over $250,000/yr has ever been sentenced to death. Although the murder rate is evenly distributed across all income levels.

[@CoachDitka]

Alex Barber It's adorable that you think the rich play by the same rules as the rest of us.

[@lucadefranco3420]

Alex Barber thank you, finally someone who isn't blinded by an "Us versus them" worldview. The rich have no need to commit murder or theft, and that is why barely any are put on death row. A rich person who commits a crime will have the same punishment as a poor person who commits the exact same crime. It's called mandatory minumums. More poor people are in jail because moor poor people commit crimes because they have to, not because poor people are punished more that rich people who commit the same crimes.

[@williamolliffe2302]

Doesn't this also affect poor white people?

[@itszaza5937]

The Nutman more black people are imprisoned

[@gadsantana8211]

The Nutman your one of those people read this www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/jul/13/van-jones/van-jones-claim-drug-use-imprisonment-rates-blacks/

[@YangSunWoo]

What's with all the stupid people in the comments? Oh... it's youtube.

[@jethepimp]

Yes it does and it also triggers special white snow flakes too.

[@TheGerm24]

You guys are exaggerating. The examples in the video are of black people because they are clients of the narrator. White poor people do suffer. I've seen numerous videos of the problems in Applachia for example.

[@alfredsalazar9892]

wow this is so true, 20 yrs ago i was convicted of burglerly of a building offense and served my probation . i still find myself working low income jobs and barely making it because of my criminal back ground. No forgiveness

[@JustSmileAndWave2023]

Brother, I pray that our Almighty Father makes a way for you even in this time, going forward, if you are seeking another/new work opportunity. 🙏✨ Everyone deserves compassion, grace, and a second chance for sure. ✨

[@lauramarschmallow2922]

wtf? how can you legally ban someone from puplic housing? That's cruel! You thereby force him to do homelessness.

[@marklidasan773]

People in the comments section saying "Just don't do crime then?" obviously don't understand the harsh circumstances these individuals have to go through, just be glad we're fortunate enough that we don't have to go through what they have to go through #stayblessed

[@rossevanricamara4169]

JC Denton I think we could make exceptions for some, but still.

[@dcseain]

In 1990 I was working in a union grocery store in Northern Virginia. A man of color handed me an application, on which he declared a felont, discharged 6 months prior. I told him.that because of the charge , we couldn't hire him in a customer -facing position at that time, but would he mind working overnight stocking shelves. He started crying - we were talking he first place willing to consider him for a job. Qe ended up hiring him. He was wonderful and moved up within the store through time. .

[@foxtrotmetal01]

I've never been one to break the law , my family taught me to be civic , to solve issues without violence and with the use of diplomacy ... of course all of that changed the day I got arrested. I'm 20 years old and last year I was arrested for possesion of marihuana , the police ilegally searched my car and found some small buds that I had beacuse I self medicate and was in the process of aquiring my medial license for use. they brought me trough the system anyways , I was treated like a dog getting pushed around and manhandled, I was treated like I was not even a person and got locked up in a cage like an animal for 36 hours with no food , no social interaction ... just me and a piece of wood and metal that they called a bed. Never have I felt such inclination to break the law and never ever have I felt more hate and disappoitment towards the system than the day I got out. What's even funnnier was the fact that during my processing a shooting happened (heard it on the sergeant's radio) lives got lost, and where was the police ? proccesing an innocent man that was on his way home after a long day of work for having less than 1g of weed in him. The "Justice" system does not reform criminals it creates them.

[@miguelrobb5719]

Sorry to hear what you went through. I hear folks brag about not having a criminal record, but they don’t realize that they are one bad moment away from getting pulled into the system as well. I been pulled into the system by just simply arguing with someone. I happen to have a knife on me at the time of my arrest, and the police blew it out of proportion. My clean record is gone now. I don’t do drugs, I don’t sell them either, I ignore people, I make sure I pay my insurance every 6 months, and I don’t carry a gun or knife on me. I been through the court system and I’m making sure this is the last and I’m not giving cops or other people a reason to throw me in jail again

[@AchiraDasgupta]

It sounds so bad. 😔

[@marydaniels8829]

pot is decriminalized almost everywhere. did you get a charge ? Were you driving under the influence?

[@LuukSwinkels]

Prison needs to take away your freedom as punishment. Sadly in the USA it takes away someones life

[@meahdahlgren6537]

Right

[@corinadanaeca4778]

And, the problem is, without justice, a person can be wrongfully convicted, and these kinds of things can ruin lives.

[@andrewcerda5998]

Lost my brother because of this. They get so use to living inside that they can't function outside anymore. Drugs and alcohol make it worse. Once family pushes them away all hope is lost.

[@keithleeuwen877]

The System Suxx !

[@miscspice]

As someone who has a relative that has been to jail, (and is Hispanic), I can confirm a few things. He’s been cut off from many opportunities. He’s treated like a menace. He’s been roped into this long chain of mindless rules.

[@jebidiahkerman4600]

i'm so sorry . that sounds horrible,

[@TheBOSS6715]

This seems to focus on the poor black community and not the poor community as a whole

[@albertmoreno6408]

Henry Saegenschnitter it does. I think it has more to do with the individual guy and his experiences.

[@fulanodetal3614]

Henry Saegenschnitter Everyone has the right to speak on issues based on their own experience. That people can only reasonably argue for and against a cause based on their own personal experience is a given. It's also to be expected. Take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt (meaning use some common sense).

[@navonmyhand7999]

A lot of black people are poor. And the guy talking is black, probably talking about examples he knows from his community. So then of course they would be black...

[@TheDragonfriday]

It just look like this young black man point of view of jail.

[@KR-sg3qd]

are you dumb. just because the drawings of are black people doesn't mean the point is to only help poor black people...

[@burntoutgiftedkidthings]

Seriously, some people in this comments section seemed to have just missed the point completely.

[@MCNarret]

Justice should never be revenge, but rather redemption.

[@andrewhaskins1763]

Law is so bad. if you get accused you are stuck in this perpetual. not even guilty, yet. you pay the repercussions from a he said she said situation. im on EPO, based on the victims' feelings. just because they were showing emotion. I cant even do anything. I told the police I want to file a complaint and they let her file but not me. claims i pushed her, but she grabbed me and lost her balance when i backed up. I was assaulted, but i get the ankle monitor on my leg, kicked out of the home i pay rent at, and cant go to work because i have no family near but 60 miles away. im in a hole because of this. im broke, staying in a room with limited supplies at my parents. and ill never financially recover from this because I have to get a lawyer.

[@SuperMrCRAZYMAN]

This is one reason why many people try to avoid jail as much as possible cause of the stigma, it's sad cause the system is telling us once you get in your life is over, where you have people who want to work, but would be lucky if they even get anything work at all. Another problem is most prisons and private prisons stop giving education where politics hated anyone get any benefits in jail. Once out of jail it's like you have only two choices go back to crime cause that's the only thing can get money or risk living on the streets homeless because you can't get a job to pay rent and stuff. It goes to show you that this justice system is a joke.

[@bicyclist2]

One of the founding fathers said, "In order to maintain a Republic, we need a revolution every ten years". Thanks.

[@howardhowdy1906]

All you have to know to realize that the court system is rigged is that the quality of your lawyer depends on how much you can pay them.

[@StacyFrancis94]

that says it all and that's if they take your case.

[@happynaturalist1793]

4:23 “By restoring full rights of citizenship to people after they’ve been through the system, we can start to end the cycle of perpetual punishment.”

[@nevaehhamilton3493]

That's not how our system works. We can't do anything about this. We need to accept the bleak situation as it is. You can't fix something that's beyond repair

[@angusyang5917]

Even if you reform the justice system, it's going to be a while before employers will hire people who have criminal records.

[@idib1739]

When a system is broken and penalizes a large group of people, there's always a few profiting from it. Always!

[@ImmigrantB1]

If I had enough money, I would own a prison and help rehabilitate prisoners by offering college degrees, having a well stocked library with reading programs where inmates get to read to their kids and if possible, I would even offer them jobs while they're in jail that they would get paid for and the money would go towards taking care of their families.

[@SpoopySquid]

When your prison system is for-profit, then the prison owners have a huge incentive to criminalise as many people as possible. That's why private prison firms throw so much money at politicians - they want the laws to be as draconian and unforgiving as possible so that they can get a return on their investment.

[@bronxknight]

2 time felon here. Something that really bothers me is that one day I'll know I'll have enough money to travel and see the world but because of my record which cannot be expunged or sealed in my state, I'll probably be banned entry to quite a few places I'd like to see. And I'm a non-violent offender at that. Admittedly I'm overcoming most everything else because of the love and support of my wife. I was in there with a lot of dudes who had nothing and nobody though. Within 2 years most of those guys were re-incarcerated.

[@robertnieten7259]

Peoples " right to know" only goes so far. Once someone has completed their sentence, their criminal history should only be accessable to the police. Can you imagine how many more ex-convicts would be able to obtain gainful employment, have their choice of where they want to live, and be able to give back to society instead of resorting to crime to survive.

[@user-bo1fg6tw5e]

My father works in the Department of Correction. He's always said that it's really bullshit and the system needs to be fixed

[@gladysrodriguezpitre7919]

How exactly can we do this? I have seen the damage caused by perpetually punishing people up close. This must end. But, how to stop it?

[@alanspagnol]

It sucks that these cages spread not only to former inmates or people convicted, but also to poor people, black people, sometimes even women and homosexuals. Here in Brazil, some people who cannot afford good education because they are so worried about surviving end up stuck on an endless cycle of no opportunities. We have to make pubic policies work and change laws to end up this big mess. We are all citizens of the world and we should do something. Every human being is important.

[@navonmyhand7999]

If anyone is wondering why they all black, the reason is because: 1. The speaker is black himself, and he is talking about the poor community he knows (which is also black). 2. Because they can be. Different races of people don't need to be in this video just so they can fit some quota; _race has nothing to do with this video_. Any poor person from any race could suffer from this because all can be arrested.

[@semi2893]

The more I hear about the justice system of the USA, the more I doubt you can call it that at all. Makes me being even more happy to live in Europe!

[@beverlyhurd8556]

We are happy you live there too! Now _stay_ there!

[@zyibesixdouze4863]

"Dont do a crime" Let's see, say there's a boy named Tim. Tim's father was life sentenced for manslaughter because of causing his wife to commit suicide, and the woman's family pressed charges. Tim's family has no income, no home, no food. Tim can't have education because of this, of course, so Tim has no options except to die or scrape what he can. He chooses the latter and eventually is caught shoplifting. Poor Tim, he never stood a chance. Maybe if he didn't do crime, he'd have done... something. After all, a person on the streets would be a ble to succeed in life right? I mean, it was his choice to do crime. Tim chose survival instead of death. Remember, don't be like Tim. The moment your life spirals downwards just commit suicide, and viola! Nothing happened because Tim meant nothing to anyone.

[@CadetGriffin]

Rich and educated people can commit crimes too. Tim might end up in an orphanage one day.

[@ellislyon4804]

theres a lot of government aid for kids like "Tim" though, so shoplifting to 'survive' wouldn't be necessary. good try though,

[@MasterMarco25]

I can make a lot shorter story that's tremendously more simplistic for you. Meet Bob, Bob sits at home and smokes pot. Bob gets pulled over one day and police find remnants of the plant in his car. Now Bob is a felon and goes to prison.

[@vegapunk6985]

The US is a terrible place to live, i think. Everything seems so bleak

[@randomstuff7962]

Vega punk is there a better place dou?

[@vegapunk6985]

Yes, so many!

[@DoselH]

Random Stuff All the countries i have been living in are lol Italy,Switzerland,Germany

[@Crystal14351]

Vega punk Only for right now, I hope. This country has been through a lot and I think we can get through this, too.

[@YTBraxxGaming]

Vega punk it's not. It's a developed nation with a republic government, first amendment rights and other basic freedoms. We complain a lot but always forget about nations Syria and North Korea where life is actually living hell. America is a great country and we take it for granted

[@CCSABCD]

The title says poor but the video says black

[@trctta]

Cristian Campos blacks aren't rich

[@ADeeManz]

Moaf What😂 the nfl and nba is predominantly black and they make what your parents annual salary in 2 months. Oprah’s a billionaire. Lebron has a billion dollar deal with Nike. Obama made millions. Y’all dumb asf😂 white people i tell you

[@Daniel-fv1ff]

I was glad that they at least titled it poor not black. Video wasn't really about either though tbh. It was about the difficulty of rehabilitation and reintegration.

[@bilsabo]

they are a very small minority, the exeption, not the norm.

[@candylove-if7sx]

i believe that you fail to realize that people of color and minorities are the most targeted when it comes to incarnation. if you look at the facts and statistics it checks out.

[@Tabby3456]

For anyone that thinks people like criminals need to be punished harshly, heres what i got to say. Why would you do such a thing? giving into your feelings for such a small matter? They are better served elsewhere...These acts of cruelty may have more serious repercussions than you know or can see. Cruelty, leads to suffering, and when one suffers. it is the way of life to spread suffering. The suffering within builds, until its sound is all that one hears, and when a kindness is offered, its punished. Form one act, can come tremendous power when the echo has traveled as far as it can, send a positive message and there will be no more criminals. I promise you!

[@TIOLIOfficial]

It makes no sense rejecting people from affordable housing for their past mistakes.

[@CaptainBuggyTheClown]

What has been happening to our citizens on behalf of our judicial branch is unconstitutional and what we take for granted should not be.

[@PobyofFenrir]

The best part was left out. All the showers and pillows and food and whatever else for each one of those millions of inmates come out of your check in taxes. More efficient system would be reducing incarceration on a danger-to-society basis, promoting rehabilitation, lowering recidivism, and getting these people out working again and paying taxes instead of being sustained by taxes. Instead we pay into a system that makes someone even more predisposed to criminal tendencies than when they first went in. Makes perfect sense. Some oligarch is benefiting from it but the tax payers and inmates sure as hell aren't.

[@davida6722]

This topic needs to be addressed by the American Bar Association. Why hasn't it been already?

[@zodiac890]

also if u r poor in usa u dont have human rights like the middle class and the rich americans

[@reneiloe_m]

Can just take a moment and appreciate the Animation

[@ripwolfe]

Beautifully told and the art in this video is amazing! My take: The justice system has become the legal expression of the inherent bullying culture in US American society. What else can you call perpetually punishing someone -- after they've paid their dues and time -- other than bullying? Some crimes are obviously reprehensible, such as murder, rape and molestation, but the system also makes criminal so many inconsequential actions that all citizens are likely at risk of committing a crime by accident. And in accidentally committing such a crime so, we risk being unduly punished. How is that not anything other than state-sanctioned, institutionalized bullying? It's the state saying "I don't like what you you've done, so you will be punished -- and I will make the rules so esoteric and dynamic that you'll often not know till it's too late." To add to it all, consider that there's an entire class of people who can evade the consequences of their own crimes, all the while tormenting entire swaths of society with their arbitrary rules: What was the 2008 housing crash? A full on evasion of the justice system by a small group of people with the power, wealth, and influence to do what they want without consequence. Bullies of the highest degree. Don't get me started on for-profit prison systems. Some -- the poor in particular -- suffer more than others in the short term (if you can call decades "short term"), but the entire society suffers in the long run.

[@AchiraDasgupta]

2nd paragraph 👏

[@smallblueflower]

Education is not a privilege, it's a solution, a right!

[@rr3775]

American Justice System in 5 easy steps. 1. Imprison without fair trial 2. Damage the person mentally and physically in violent privatized prisons 3. Release from prison into poverty 4. Make it hard to get a job by tarnishing his/her background record 5. Push them toward committing more crime and back into prison.

[@puregirl22]

I don't like how this video us saying "poor people" and only showing black people is rather racist. Not all black people are poor and not all poor people are black. They could at least change the title of the video.

[@dustinz3371]

The problem is also for-profit prisons. They thrive off of re-incarceration.

[@travis8229]

I went into the Army, they told me they would pay for my college. What college? I learned the school of hard knocks. The people in leadership they are the ones who belong in prison most of the time, not the offender. Don't trust the gov or anyone really, if you think you're innocent you probably are, get an attorney and fight the scumbag who thinks you owe society. If you weren't given a chance you owe no debt to society, society owes you.

[@omisan771]

LIFE is rigged against the poor. No matter where on earth you are.

[@hannahwolken7022]

No matter what you feel about this video, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that these illustrations are absolutely beautiful.

[@bostano]

The message in this video is profound, and not to be ignored, nor taken lightly. Excellent work.

[@Bakkland]

the US is collapsing in on itself. RIP, torn apart by greed and hate

[@crispybacon4240]

Is that a child or a Mexican dwarf? He has the stereotypical moustache, goatee, haircut and cauliflower ears. Haha.

[@dominquedoty458]

I got a proposal that could work. We need a Prison system that is a proper balance of Punishment and Rehabilitation. Punishment and Rehabilitation levels that changes, accordingly based off of inmate's behavior and/or crime they have committed. A little more on Punishment, if the inmate is being a nasty menace and/or causing more problems while in prison. And a little more on Rehabilitation, if the inmate is behaving well and going good deeds while in prison. The same needs to be applied in Jails as well. An inmate should be able to get more privileges. Not by hand outs, But by earning such privileges. One way is Getting a Prison/jail job that will help the inmate, have a good behavior record over time. AND pay him or her decent wages, instead of slavery change per hour. The inmate can get a promotion in their job or a job change into another work type, while in prison. You can make money off of these prisoners. BUT PLEASE make it where the prisoners can be able to earn a living wage, that starts out at 8 to 10 dollars per hour. They can even get education while working. That can lead to pay raises and promotions. Allowing them to earn a CAP of 25-33 dollars per hour. (They don't deserve to get rich due to the crime they committed. But they need to not only be able to make amends. But also to have a future that won't lead right back to crime!) When the inmate gets paid. They are forced to save some earnings. They can chose how much they save. Ranging from 25% to 50% of their earnings. 10% is taken as tax or paying for their stay. And the rest can be given on hand. Plus it can also shave off days out of their sentence. (The savings is forever kept till their release from jail or prison. Then they get their savings in full.) Video games and Computer time, should be a privilege that can be EARNED. And/or option that can be allowed with a small service fee. (That won't cost the inmate much. but will keep the computer and video games. supported with more cash.) This is only for inmates with a non violent offenses, and violent inmates, who had behaved well for quite some time now. ( 1-2 weeks to 1-2 months later.) IF you make it where an inmate can have plenty to gain, but also plenty to lose. An average inmate would serve their time quietly, and not cause more trouble. When and Ex-convict is out of the prison/jail. They should be able to vote once more, once 5 years after their release. The ex-criminals should also have a second chance on getting jobs. Adept less room for error. (Meaning if they screw up once that warrants a write up. They lose the job.) Should the ex-criminal hold the job and do well for 3 months. Then they become more welcomed like a civilian. We need it where criminals realize, they screwed up. But not make them, a waste of life from the get go. (Unless it's RAPE, 1st degree murder, serial killer or spree murder, terrorism, or Gang leaders that hurt the nation as a whole.)

[@justfriends7581]

I’m all for that but $25-$33 is a lot of money. You could barely find that with a college degree these days. But no they should be able to work and 50% go into savings and 50% pay the prison that way our tax dollars don’t rise up anymore. However That would bring up a huge issue. It will make prisons push for gaining more prisoners or “finding” ways to increase sentences. Also for all the inmates who have no family I can see a guard suddenly finding a prisoner who was just about to get out dead just to reap more profits.

[@Seanseanseanseanseanandsean]

The art style of this video was breathtaking

[@eliakimbenishchayil]

He ended with, "we can start to abolish the justice trap, he should have ended with we can start to abolish the justice system!

[@lucidexistance1]

Yep, I have a felony from when I was about 21. I'm 35 now and it's harder now to get a job because of what happened back then than it was when it happened. I was one of several people at a party that thought it was a fun drunken idea to go behind an elementary school during the summer to play on the equipment and what not, some people got pretty destructive there. I don't remember much of the night except telling them not to. But 7 months later someone who was there got in trouble, told the police about a few of us there. I was the one who couldn't afford a lawyer so I'm the only felon out of the group. But, yeah. I didn't think it was a big deal back then, and even though I no longer drink and haven't been in trouble or nowhere close to it, I am currently relying on family. I'm helping my mother survive as her health aid, but I don't get paid. The last job I had was a manager of a gas station until my past caught up to me and a co-worker I had problems with went to the owners with what she learned and I was no longer manager and reduced to 1 day a week and after they spoke to me about missing inventory I quit since I was obviously about to be blamed for everything wrong. Yeah, it'd be great for it to change. It's horrible being punished for a night I can hardly remember. It has a bit to do with my bi-polar disorder too. It's why I quit drinking, I had another incident where I left my house in a black out without the proper clothing in the winter and I was found causing a lot of noise behind an ally like a block from where I was living. I was charged with disorderly conduct, but some guy wrote an article which was probably colored with my felony and now if you google my name you'll learn about a burglary which never occurred. I'm near certain that the false article that shows is part of why I don't get call backs on applications anymore since in MN they can no longer ask on applications if you have a criminal record. Type my name in google and you get that story about me which was nearly completely made up. There is a link to the actual court records on the page of the article that shows the real charges too. The police saved my life that night though, I wouldn't have survived much longer out in the cold in a t-shirt like that. I not only left my apartment unlocked but returned the next day to the door wide open and thankfully nobody stole the few belongings I had at the time. Of course, I lost the place shortly after. Ultimately I'm thinking I'll have to just go back to the psychologist and go on disability. I've been avoiding that path for years, but I feel like I'm being forced. It's either that or become homeless. It doesn't matter that I have various valuable skills. All my computer skills and business training is useless without a job. But who knows, sometimes the depression gets so bad that I sometimes think of just ending it all, but then again it's hard to not have those kinds of thoughts when I find I can't support myself.

[@nevaehhamilton3493]

Unfortunately for you, you having a criminal record means you don't deserve to exist.

[@looshkin66]

To be fair, my last 3 month of prison I completed my fasfa, applied for and was approved for financial aid BEFORE I even left prison.......when I got out I spent 6 months in a halfway house rent free which helped IMMENSELY!!! There is help out there if its wanted.

[@untenembaum]

This is heartbreaking and infuriating. The video is very illuminating and the illustration is just beautiful, this voice over is also very moving. Thanks vox for focusing on so many different important issues and always finding new creative ways to portray them.

[@nevaehhamilton3493]

There's unfortunately nothing you can do about it. You'll just have to accept the system as it is.

[@lordofallspoons4190]

Rest of developed world: illusion of free will America: illusion of freedom

[@ThisVideoAnnoyedMe]

Those dislikes for some reason, people actually believe being in prison has no after-effects?!

[@thenoobcannon9830]

the optimum solution is to get rid of unnecessary laws

[@TwitchFailsandWins]

[generic alt right comment here]

[@David-fv4xd]

[generic alt left counter here]

[@sinastaninja]

+David Alt-Left? You mean [reasoned response from Moderate Conservatives and Moderate Liberals here]. Not everyone who disagrees with the Alt Right is automatically on the polar end of the spectrum.

[@theskinnymomo1]

The people who went to prison deserve to not vote.

[@joeygray1984]

I'm glad this video's title uses the term "poor" and not just ''minority". That's the real underlying issue. I'm not trying to argue that there isn't real racism and bias within the system against black and other minorities. There certainly is but being poor is the issue that underlies all of the discrimination and unfair treatment in our society. I was born to a poor single mother who I watched go through hell to raise me. My father whose parents died when he was very young was an alcoholic along with other vices. He committed crimes and did deserve jail but he was perpetually trapped within that system because of imperfection within that system.

[@t14dann18]

I have mixed feelings on this. If you commit a violent felony after age 21, it's unreasonable to mandate that an employer can't know that info. Likewise, to call it discrimination for the employer to use that info against you really cheapens the concept of discrimination. On the other hand, if the crime is drug possession or some non violent offense, we really should give people the right to expunge that info after a certain penance. Nothing, NOTHING should prevent anyone from voting in this country.

[@reijuu956]

It saddens me that this video doesn't have more views than what it currently has.

[@bgkillz373]

Thas because society doesn’t care they believe in punishment for the rest of your life

[@davidmikalsen7588]

First step to fixing the criminal justice system is ending the war on drugs.

[@tiffsaver]

The quality of justice in America is how much money you have.

[@Gamingtv23658]

"We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil." - Martin Luther King Jr. Such as system may rightly be done away with.

[@shadykuda6528]

Dear Vox, This video made me open my eyes to the American Justice System and made me realize how damaging it is to our community. Never thought that something that is in place to keep society safe is actually hurting it.

[@rareview362]

When will people here admit how unfree and criminal this place really is? Food, water, healthcare. This place is really challenging to live in if you desire to live with Godly devotion. Your health is constantly under attack on every level.

[@0xEmmy]

I think the real issue is, the US uses punitive rather than restorative justice.

[@KwabenaAsamoah]

We need to see and hear more of these videos. Thanks Vox.

[@alexanderl8794]

Beautiful art and beautiful narration! It pains me that this cycle continues in modern times

[@FrostySumo]

Don't always agree with Vox but this video is 100% accurate. We need to rehabilitate the prisoners that want to fix their life. For profit prisons want people to re-offend and end up back in jail. They make tons of money this way. We need a system that finds a happy medium between the mini hotel rooms in places like Norway and the harsh life punishment and terrible conditions we make prisoners endure here in America. This is a big and complex issue that touches other issues (police brutality, the drug war, ect...). It is one of the most important issues to fix. Get rid of corporate unlimited money in politics first. Then you fix the broken legal system. Finally, after those two are complete, you can work with the sane members of the government to fix climate change and infrastructure. It seems so obvious to me. I find it hard to understand people who oppose this.

[@jhonsogflint]

I'm a republican, who voted for Trump, and I agree with this video. This issue affects Americans all across the country, and with my home state of FL passing Amendment 4, I hope our country is finally taking a step in the right direction. For those who say they should be stripped of these rights because they committed a crime, put yourself in their shoes. If you made a stupid mistake in your twenties, did your time and didn't reoffend, would you like to have your past mistake prevent you from bettering yourself?

[@Neontronique]

beautiful video. I once got arrested in my own home on the charge of possession of weed. Funny thing is I don't smoke but my brothers do. But apparently KNOWING what they do and not caring what they do to their own bodies still counts me as guilty of possession.

[@jebidiahkerman4600]

this angers my soul

[@Simbu.]

The result of corporatism.

[@pheasantpluck]

AMEN. Privatization without any regulation at all is the most anti-equality mechanism we've ever created

[@CarlosLopez-ch6bu]

Keith Hill how does privatization not help equality?

[@blackearl7891]

Carlos Lopez allows the corporate mentality of profit to permeate. If your business model is generated through maintaining an x amount of prisoners, with a higher profit generated by adding x amount of prisoners, it would hurt your model to reform prisoners as reformation would cut into profits. Maintenance of high recidivism among the prison population irregardless of race keeps profit steady which cost tax payers as states fund private prison due to the lack of available infrastructure. Stricter laws are then further lobbied to increase the amount of people who could fall into crime keeping the cycle at a steady pace and increasing revenue.

[@CarlosLopez-ch6bu]

blackearl7891 wait a sec

[@iskate248]

Privatization isn't the problem. If there weren't so many bad laws, there wouldn't be so many prisoners, and it wouldn't be a profitable business. The problem starts with those who write our laws.

[@Marie-lp4wx]

The injustice system didn't care if my white boy was purple! Conviction is all that mattered.

[@zappawoman5183]

Kalief Browder, age 16, kept in brutal Riker's Island 3 years without trial when he was innocent of the theft he was accused of. He tried and tried to get his life on track, but he had severe PTSD and hanged himself, which his mother witnessed and died shortly afterwards.

[@JustSmileAndWave2023]

Lord Christ have mercy...the justice system needs major reform in this country! The time is NOW!