Tony Wright is a prisoner serving his time in Philadelphia. In 1993, he was convicted of rape and murder. Today, he is still serving out his life sentence.
However, Wright is a little out of place in prison. He has something not many of his counterparts have: DNA tests proving his innocence.
One would think this would make Wright stand out amongst his peers; however, his plight is similar to that of his cellmates. He still lives behind bars and sleeps in a cell. He patiently waits in a county jail, hoping he will get the retrial he deserves. If he gets it, he will undoubtedly become a free man. But for now, he continues to be treated like a criminal.
Unfortunately, Wright’s story is not the result of exceptional bad luck. In fact, his situation is similar to many cases that have recently come under scrutiny.
As DNA testing continues to advance, it has become evident that far too many innocent people are behind bars. It is apparent these cases are not isolated events, but rather the result of a systematic trend. The source: archaic prison policy that separates America from the rest of the world in a very bad way.
Research suggests police are overzealously arresting American citizens. Studies show America’s incarceration rate far exceeds that of any developed country. In fact, our states have higher incarceration rates than most countries. Data indicates the state of Washington has the same incarceration rate as Russia; New York has the same incarceration rate as Rwanda; and Washington, D.C., has a higher incarceration rate than Cuba.
But our crime levels are lower than those of these countries. This means our high incarceration rates are not due to high crime but rather stem from a different source. Research published in Professor Alfred Blumstein’s and Joel Wallman’s “The Crime Drop in America” confirms this notion. The data collected suggests “the growth in the U.S. prison population can be more closely attributed to ideological policy choices than actual crime rates.”
That being said, it is evident many police officers are adhering to a very inefficient philosophy. It appears justice is not the main motive behind the actions of many officers. Instead, recent studies suggest many departments encourage their officers to simply get an arrest at any cost. Lawyers working with the Innocence Project, an organization fighting wrongful incarcerations through the use of DNA testing, have overturned many convictions resulting from this mindset. The abundance of cases exposing faulty arrests has demonstrated that too many police officers have no desire to employ actual justice.
The systematic incarceration of innocent people is not only morally wrong but also leads to widespread prison overpopulation. This problem is a costly endeavor that plagues our country and drains our budget. And unfortunately, America still holds fast to policies that facilitate unnecessary convictions.
Take, for example, the mass incarceration of nonviolent drug users that has filled prisons to the brim. These people are not a danger to society and have not threatened anyone’s livelihood in any way, yet they are placed in prison like violent criminals.
This demonstrates our system is failing in multiple facets, and our policies and ideologies have failed to garner optimal results.
Other developed countries have taken strides to better their prison systems. They have progressed their ideologies and have reaped the benefits. Yet, the U.S. continues to stagnate while other countries move forward.
Wright’s story is indeed tragic, but, unfortunately, it is not a rare occurrence. The incarceration of innocent people is continuing at an unprecedented rate. These arrests are not caused by isolated events, but rather the systematic result of an outdated system.
Our policies must progress if we wish to fix this problem. It is time our prison system left the past and finally joined the free world in the present.
Dennis Fiore III is a UF political science freshman. His column appears on Wednesdays.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 3/25/2015 under the headline “America's inefficient prison system leads to overpopulation, high costs”]
