What can be done to Address the Incarceration Rate amongst Minorities in this Country?

Reduce the black crime rate and you'll see arrests go down.

They have to reduce the sentence on drug possession.

Well, first of all, we need to educate.
Second of all we need to extricate the prisoners with lesser crimes.
We should have religion preached in jails and prisons; as an option.
We need to have jobs inside the prisons and jails; that will coincide with jobs on the outside.
We need to have compassionate; but guarded visitors.

You have to be raised to do the right things.

Adding one more thing. The guards in these prisons...about 30% of them are decent hard working human being with no grudge or ax to grind...however...Many of these guards are on a power trip....they go out of their way to make prisoners miserable...and the biggest problem is there is NO way to prove it unless a prison puts in secret hidden camera that have audio....so think about this....a person is in prison..doesn't matter what color they are....and there are guards who will either bully you...chastise you....call you names...push you to the edge and break you....the prisoner defends himself and the guard writes you up....a prisoner is taking a shower....three other prisoners come in there....the guard turns a blind eye...these prisoners beat up this one prisoner in the shower....a few days later...one of the guards calls him out because he's got a black eye...in prison it doesn't matter....so this prisoner is written up for fighting, yet he was totally beaten up by three others...this prisoner is in there for drug charges...he's not really a bad person...yet...after getting treated like this over and over and over and over again...what do you think is going to happen to this person once he's set free? He is going to be mad...he's going to have a huge grudge or ax to grind...or he's going to say...I'm not going to let this affect me...I'm going to go on with my life on a better path. PRobably one out of 5000 may choose the right path...

Many people who go to prison, go on what I consider minor charges....but most of the prisoners that are there are pretty bad people...and most of these with minor charges come out of prison way worse off than they went in.

There are gangs....there is organized gambling...they make alcohol...there are more drugs in prison than you would ever imagine there is.

I know these things because I learn them from my son...and I know every time he's beat up...every time a guard looks the other way....every time he's chastised, made fun of ...treated like crap by the BAD guards....There is NOTHING I can do about it....EVERY time I make a complaint....I write them up...I mail and email them in...It's always...oh Ms. Mays an investigation was done and we can not substantiate yours or your sons claims. The guard said...blah blah blah...

I used to be nice...now I tell them they are full of SHIT and that their investigations are a FARCE...One big JOKE cause how can you possibly do an investigation using the same guards at the same facility and think it's going to be fair or that the REAL truth is going to come out.

Most of the people who are in PRISONS have been there already...If Bernie and others think there are too many prisons and too many prisoners...

First, change the laws and stop throwing in people with minor offenses.

Second....Put the ones with Minor offenses all together. Why are they all lumped in with people who have done really bad things or this is their second or third or more times being locked up.

And third...CHANGE the education system and change the way GOVERNMENT hands out money....FREE money to these parents who SHOULD not have CHILDREN..

As you can see this is a real sore subject with me.....

Your headline and what Bernie says is not fair....the reason why more minorities are locked up is because there are more minorities on government assistance....

Change the system ...give these kids a fighting chance and then maybe half of them won't end up in jail and or prison.

http://www.amren.com/features/2014/05/confessions-of-a-public-defender/
Found this shortly after Ferguson started going down. It is a very interesting read about what this public defender has seen since he started his job. Notice these are only observations and not any scientific study so nobody should get bent out of shape.

It's a huge "chicken and the egg" question. I have a retired police friend that says 25% of African American males have been convicted and incarcerated at some point. If you grow up in a neighborhood where 1 in 4 have been arrested, and the police are always watching, the deck is stacked against them to begin with.

Lord knows I did some shady crap growing up. Different neighborhood, different skin color, I might have turned out differently too.

Here's the thing, the only people who can help the African American community IS the African American community.

For a historical reference I point to the Irish. In the 19th century they were often called "White Negros"... and in that uniquely American "Land of opportunity" way they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps... they became Police (almost to the point of it becoming cliche), they ran for office, they shared their culture (who doesn't like a good St Paddy's day party) they took part in the culture around them... in short, they integrated.
Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Irish_sentiment

My hope was that the election of President Obama would show the African American community that EVERY American has opportunity, but sadly it doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe Ben Carson could? He's currently my favorite, not because of the color of his skin, but because he seems to most align with my values.

I don't live in a neighborhood that is predominantly one race or another, it's a young community, the majority of people live here because they moved here. There is a deep history of racism here though, ( Mansfield school desegregation incident ).

My son plays football, some of his best friends are African American... they're all fine upstanding teenagers. It's a team full of good sportsmanship and watching each others back. Teenage boys often more mature than some of the adults I call "friend". I have high hopes for the next generation, I talk about this with my son, I want him to understand the importance of his friendships, I hope he tells his friends, I hope they tell their parents.

I'd like to transform the prisons into work centers where the incarcerated make a fair labor wage which would be paid to them month to month after they are released. The work centers should teach trades in construction, welding, and areas that are hard to fill. Hopefully that would result in better reintegration after release. Some states are succeeding very well, but the crazies come out and say they shouldn't be used for labor while in prison.
Perhaps trump is onto something with taking the illegal criminals and having them build the wall.

That's a big can of worms. Look at the reason why these people are in jail or prison. Do your best to correct it. Those in leadership positions need to be stressing that families should have 2 parents, stress of staying in school, stress entering the work force instead of crime or drugs. In America we have many God granted rights. BUT with those rights come what is called, "RESPONSIBILTY." That's where many go wrong.

Yes, it is much easier said than done. Though we must start somewhere. Teach people to look in the mirror and ask, "is this what I want out of life?" It has not happened in the last several years. Who's fault is it? You decide......

With a majority of those in jail are in for drug related offenses (non-violent) it would seem that some how the cost/benefit of selling drugs needs to become less appealing than other more productive opportunities. However I think that is easier said than done - single parent homes, dropping out of school, and other socioeconomic problems need to be addressed. The United States imprisons more people than any other nation in the world – largely due to the so called war on drugs. I feel that minorities are targeted because of gangs and gang violence that are all part of turf wars related to drug sales. Why do people fall into the gang-hood life? I feel this is due as a result of low income/single parent homes. I feel the institutions of family and religion need to be supported in minority communities in order to curb the lure of the hustle. Old data but sheds some light on part of the problem - 63.8 million children were true zero-parent children in 1980, up from 3.5 percent 10 years before. The numbers are far worse among black children: In 1980, 10.6 percent of them lived in parentless households, up from 9.4 percent in 1970.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1995/03/bg1026nbsp-the-real-root-causes-of-violent-crime