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Christin Tillett
May 15, 2002
CRJU 110 – Gulick
The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: A Tragic Tale of Judicial Failure
The novel The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison by Jeffrey Reiman is an
informative insight to how the criminal justice system is biased against the impoverished
people of the United States. The book outlines the discrepancies in the way
underprivileged people and those of higher social class are treated from arrest, to trial,
and finally to sentencing. Reiman states his beliefs by using the Pyrrhic Defeat Theory, a
theory that states that the criminal justice system uses all of its resources and capital on
reducing crime, but they fail in reducing crime, which results in a success. The failure of
the criminal justice system to reduce street crimes is a success in that corporate America
and the wealthy have the ability to keep damaging others without reprimand from the
system.
In chapter one, Reiman starts the investigation by showing that America has a
high crime rate, reviewing the excuses for such a high crime rate, and introducing the
sources of crime. Over the past several years the crime rate has declined, but compared
to other countries that are just as industrially civilized as ourselves, we have a
significantly higher rate of crime and lethal violence. Reiman states that even though
crime has declined slightly, it was due to other reasons than governmental policies that
have recently been instated as a way of “cracking down on crime”. For example, several
states did not use the new “tough on crime” laws and they have been experiencing the
same decline in crime. The inference Reiman makes is that the decline in crime is due to
the economy, stabilization of drug trade, and the increase of employment. He admits
that there might be a slight increase in crime due to the imprisonment binge that the
government has seemed to institute as a way of decreasing street crimes, but also goes on
to show how this new binge has taken away many important civil rights of U.S. citizens.
Reiman goes on to explain why society thinks the crime rate is as high as it is and shows
the factors that they attribute high crime to. Society as a whole uses the excuses that we
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are too soft on crime, that modern life has changed, that the increase in youth provides for
higher crime rates, and that we do not know how to stop crime as reasons that we have
such a substantial crime rate. Reiman rebuttals against these excuses and goes to show
that they are not valid through statistics and comparisons. The U.S. has one of the
highest incarceration rates in the world; we are more likely to send a person to prison
than other countries and our sentences are harsher as well. In addition the modern life
argument does not hold up in that other industrialized countries have lower crime rates
and less violence than that of our country. The argument that an increase in the youth
population causes more crimes is not valid as well in that the changes in crime do not
depend on the size population as shown by statistics. The correlation between an
increase in the youth population and an increase in crime does not exist. Finally, the last
argument that we do not know how to stop crime is not a legitimate excuse in that we see
the factors that attribute to crime and rather than trying to solve these issues, we simply
just place more police on the street and think the crime problem will go away. Crime
stems from four main sources according to Reiman: inequality, the condition of our
prisons, gun control, and the current drug policy. There is a relative deprivation between
the rich and poor of the U.S. and this constant struggle to fulfill the emphasis on material
success is a main cause of crime. This country does not provide a means for everyone to
obtain material success and most people must resort to illegal activities as a way of
achieving the “American Dream”. Secondly, the overuse and conditions of our prisons
leave something to be desired. By placing people in an overcrowded massive building
we discourage a pro-social environment. There are not enough programs that are
instituted to help prisoners obtain jobs or homes once they are free from their sentence in
prison. Also many nonviolent and drug offenses are committed by impoverished men
and by placing them in prison we are merely taking them from their children and leaving
them financially unstable which brings them back to a life of crime. Thirdly, gun control
needs to be better regulated in the U.S., so that the level of lethal violence will decrease.
If we do not give criminals access to weapons they will be less likely to commit a crime.
Lastly, the current drug policy needs to be altered so that cheap heroin can be made
accessible to those that desire it. Most crimes are committed as a way of attaining money
to buy drugs and by legalizing cheap heroin we take away the incentive to commit
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crimes. To conclude the chapter Reiman gives credit to Durkheim as well as Erickson for
creating the Pyrrhic Defeat Theory.
In chapter two Reiman explores analogous social harms and shows how society
creates dangerous crime. The criminal justice system seems to act as a carnival mirror in
that it magnifies the significance of street crime, yet minimizes the harms from
occupational hazards, health care, and poverty. Reiman believes that criminal law does
not provide an adequate reflection of ruinous acts, but instead distorts the relationship
between crime and harm as a carnival mirror distorts the image reflected back at the
object. Society seemed to have created this archetype of a criminal, a young, urban, poor,
minority male. Reiman argues that this image is created through decisions made by the
people composing the criminal justice system and that this image is distorted. Many
other criminologists might feel that criminal law does reflect the worst social harms and
that corporate violence is not equivalent because executives do not intentionally harm
others, indirect harm is not as bad as direct harm, injuries from legitimate business is not
as bad as injuries from illegal criminal activities, and people consent to the hazards
offered by large corporations. Reiman does not agree with this and argues that the
behavior of large corporations and executives shows intent to harm, but since there is no
“criminal” code against it, it is often ignored. Also some practices executed by
businesses should be stopped by society, there is no reason that workers should be beaten
to work faster or that children should be exploited in the work environment. An
executive that ignores basic human rights and lacks compassion who does not obey the
laws set up to protect innocent workers is committing a crime, even though he is
technically involved in legitimate business activity. In the rest of the second chapter
Reiman gives evidence that most harm that will occur to the average American will not
be street crimes, but crimes involving worker exploitation. Occupational hazards are a
main concern in that most work-related illness and deaths should not occur, it is one of
the fastest growing categories plaguing most American workers. Everyday workers are
placed in environments where they are susceptible to diseases that could lead to cancer or
other life threatening ailments. In addition workers are not provided with proper medical
coverage by their employers resulting in improper medical care, unnecessary surgeries,
and reactions to prescribed medication. Finally, the last crime that is being committed by
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society and is not a result of street crime is poverty. Inequality was created in the past,
but we must work towards the future to solve it. The underprivileged cannot afford
medical coverage; they have higher infant mortalities, greater chance for illness, and
shorter life spans. Since in the U.S. wealth and income are correlated with race, many
minorities are the ones experiencing such hardships. As a society we need to provide an
environment in which everyone has the ability to live a healthy, happy life and people no
longer feel the need to commit crimes to make it through life.
In chapter three Reiman scrutinizes the procedures in which our prisons come to
be inhabited by mostly people from the lowest social and economic backgrounds. The
poor are more likely to get arrested, more likely to get charged, more likely to be
convicted, and more likely to receive longer sentences than members of higher social
ranks. Reiman does not try to convey the idea that the rich are the whole reason that
crime still exists, but states that “the poor are arrested and punished by the criminal
justice system much more frequently than their contribution to the crime problem would
warrant”. The first step in which the justice system begins establishing the difference
between rich and poor is at the arrest. Numerous studies show that while African
Americans and Caucasians both admit to similar amounts and types of crimes, it is the
people of lower economic status that seem to always get arrested. A theory is that police
mainly investigate and arrest those that hold the least political power or draw the least
attention to the police force, so it is normally people of low income. Reiman raises a
good point when he shows that the crimes that the poor are charged with are much pettier
than crimes done by white collar workers. White collar crime is at an all time high at
$339 billion dollars, which proves that: 1.) white collar crime is more costly than street
crime 2.) White collar crime is widespread 3.) White-collar criminals are never arrested
and charged as much as other criminals 4.) White collar sentences are not as severe as
those of other criminals. The second step in which the poor are segregated in is
conviction. A person’s guilt or innocence during a trial is affected by financial
background in that to be able to obtain a good defender one must have a lot of money. A
study shows that unemployed people are three times more likely to be convicted than
anyone else. Finally, the last step that is biased against the poor is sentencing. The most
severe sentences are normally handed out to people of lower economic status and those
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people that are a better class of criminals normally get lighter sentences according to
Reiman. There is also an issue with the fairness of death penalty cases in that more
African Americans are sentenced to death than Caucasians. The recent reforms on
mandatory minimum sentencing as well as the Three Strikes Policy have led to the
destruction of minority communities. There are three main points of bias against the poor
in that the crimes poor people commit are more likely to carry harsher sentences, the poor
receive less probation and longer sentences, and their harmful acts are treated more
severely than acts that affect the country on a higher economic level.
In the last chapter Reiman shows the reader how the criminal justice system is
benefiting from failure. The Pyrrhic Defeat Theory is used to show that the failure of the
system is a success in that those who have the power to change the system benefit from
the way it operates. The wealthy can commit more crimes and accumulate better
financial status, while the country believes that street crime and poor criminals are to
blame for the huge crime rate. Reiman illustrates that the criminal justice system seems
to divert attention from it’s failures by focusing on individuals as criminals. By focusing
on individuals we are only addressing half of the problem of justice. We need to see if
society is fulfilling the requirements needed by individuals just as the individuals need to
fulfill requirements for society. Reiman believes that the poor have no access to
achieving financial success, so they resort to crime. The laws that the nation is built on
are laws that seem to benefit the powerful and not all of society. Those that make the
laws and regulate their use are from better economic backgrounds than those getting
persecuted. Finally, by believing the Pyrrhic Defeat Theory people can see that it is not
street crime that people are not protected from, but instead it is the powerful that people
need protection against.
In conclusion, the criminal justice system is only a just system if it equally
protects the interests and rights of all and equally punishes those that violate those rights
or powers. In order to create such a system Reiman gives several key ideas. Since most
poverty brings crime he suggests that we need to provide better education, job training,
and investments in inner cities. We need to let the crime fit the harm and punishment
issued to the offender. Reiman believes that we need to identify corporations for their
illegal activities, criminalize illegal acts by the wealthy, and decriminalize petty crimes
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such as prostitution, gambling, and vagrancy. In addition we should legalize the
production and sale of illicit drugs and treat addiction as a medical problem, not a social
disease. Drug dealers are charging high prices for drugs because they are taking a risk in
selling them to those that want them. Harmless drugs, such as Marijuana, need to be
legalized so that there would be less people under the control of the criminal justice
system and it would increase their chances for employment. Reiman does not believe
that we should legalize all drugs because there are some that are highly addictive, but we
do need to institutionalize a program in which addictions are treated as medical problems,
so that the addict is not a prisoner, but instead a patient. In addition, correctional
programs must be instated so that once an ex-offender is released into the community
they will be able to survive on a life not based around crime. Reiman suggests that we
train offenders at a marketable skill, assure offenders the right to equally compete for
jobs after release, and utilize the imprisonment time in a way that promotes personal
responsibility. The U.S. needs to also obtain a stricter gun control law because easy
access to weapons provides many with a temptation that could escalate to fatal levels.
Finally, in order to fulfill the goal of promoting justice the criminal justice system needs
to reduce the discretionary powers available to police officers, prosecutors, and judges in
addition to holding them responsible for their sensibleness of their decision. To achieve
this goal Reiman believes that we need to eliminate the practice of multiple charging in
order to coax a plea bargain, set specific sentence and charging guidelines, require judges
and prosecutors to justify their decisions in writing. In addition Reiman believes that the
right to counsel should be extended to the right to equal counsel. He believes that this
can be obtained by establishing a national form of legal insurance enabling all individuals
the right to hire private attorneys. In summary, Reiman believes that a just system cannot
hold individuals guilty of the injustice of breaking the law if that law itself supports and
defends unjust social order. We must establish a just distribution of wealth and income to
make equal opportunity a reality.