Women of Color and the Prison Industrial Complex Research Paper

This paper examines how the Rockefeller Drug Laws issue different punishments for usage of crack and cocaine, with the former more prevalent in communities of color and carrying a greater sentence. White women charged with drug use are viewed to have a problem that can be cured via therapy, whereas women of color are incarcerated for similar offenses. Drug-abusing pregnant mothers are discussed, as well as the differences between the private and public forms of justice that lead to racial inequality in the judicial system. Different court cases are integrated into the argument as means of proof. Behind bars, the gendered differences between male and female prison systems is discussed, as well as the constant abuse and sexual degradation experienced by female prisoners at the hands of male guards. The prison industrial complex is also compared to a modern institution of slavery.