A constitutional Paradox, Politics, and Rationality: Reflection Paper
The American Constitution is arguably the most important document that the country has since it helps prioritize the rights and privileges that governments and individuals have within the country. Initially, the constitution supported 13 states, but more states have joined the union, with the current number of states standing at 50, Alaska and Hawaii being the last states to join the union in 1959.[1] From how the Americans protect their constitution, other countries in the world have also realized the essentiality of having a constitution that helps rule the countries objectively. As a result, whenever the United States wants to take any action regarding the country and its citizens, they always ensure that the 1787 constitution is its main point of reference. That is because the Constitution Founding Fathers were more objective in ensuring that they created a document that would bring its people together, which has led to the great debate concerning the American Constitution Original Intent concept. As evidenced in many life aspects, change is inevitable so does the changes meant to enhance the American constitution. Such changes saw the constitution undergoing various amendments to align with the nation’s current state. From my evaluation, the most effective Amendment was the 14th Amendment, which aimed at protecting all Americans whether one became an American citizen by naturalization or birth.[2]
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The Bible projects that the government’s main role is to protect its citizens from their neighbor’s ill actions. For instance, in Isaiah 56:1, the Bible indicates that God commanded his people to always engage in the appropriate actions since his salvation is close as he reveals His righteousness.[3] That is because everything on earth lives under God’s sovereignty, which requires them to be good to others and fulfill God’s promises.[4] As a result, the government also serves under the mercy of God, an aspect that the founding fathers understood well. As such, the earthly governments possess limited governance to serve in place of God and for the sake of humankind. Hence, the limited government doctrine is supported by the Bible since the natural law is superior to human-made laws, thus making the earthly laws to help humankind live according to God’s will and avoid harming others since every human deserves respect and protection from any harm.[5] Above all, the different amendments made to the constitution, especially the 14th Amendment, have been essential in ensuring that all government levels respect the citizen’s rights no matter the situation, including enslaved people, so long as these individuals are American citizens.
Learning more about America and its constitution is a great experience since it helps one evaluate the change process and its effectiveness to the people and the government, especially the Original Intent of the American Constitution. Every amendment and policymaking process must ensure they align their suggestions and change recommendations to the Founding Fathers Original Intent.[6] For instance, the different policy areas I had been working on regarding reducing recidivism rates without engaging parole supervision. The policy must ensure that they adhere to the 14th Amendment, which was an enhancement of the 6th Amendment, which requires all United States’ rights to be protected at all costs. However, one factor that I had not understood clearly concerns when the due law process.[7] That is because the due process of law requires the intervention of the supreme court only when there is a special circumstance, and that is how I learned about how President Theodore Roosevelt 1906 ordered the action of the Supreme court after realizing that a 19-year-old Tennessee had been falsely accused of rape and killed without being given a chance to express himself due to racial issues.[8]
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When engaging the Bill of Rights, especially the 14th Amendment, I realized that the initial policies on recidivism on violent criminals without engaging them in parole supervision presented huge gaps in protecting the rights of these criminals. Considering the supremacy of the American Constitution, activities like incarceration or incapacitation did not align with the original intent of the constitution framers. That is because policies on incarceration and incapacitation deprive the criminals’ right to live within the US. Therefore, I realized there was a need to engage more, especially in criminals’ mental health and behavioral interventions, whenever they still serve their punishments to prevent rearrest cases. That is because rearrests leads to more adverse effects on criminals, society, and the criminal justice system. The criminals always suffer from the rejection they experience from the community members since they fail to secure jobs and individuals they can share their grievances with since the community always perceives them as dangerous individuals.[9] On the other hand, society may fail to accomplish their daily activities due to fear of attacks by these violent criminals. The criminal justice system experience issues concerning prison overcrowding, which further complicates issues like increased budget and the inability to provide favorable sanitation and medical attention to the prisoners.
The American Constitution, its Original Intent, and the Bill of Rights are crucial factors to consider when making any policy related to American Citizens. Hence, in addressing the recidivism reduction in violent criminals, the most appropriate form is to engage in behavior-related interventions by engaging psychiatrists and other essential medical practitioners to help these criminals.[10] That is because some may engage in multiple crimes and rearrests due to their background and societal traumas that end up affecting their mental capacity to recognize what is right or wrong, thus being ruthless to everybody in society. By engaging these medical professionals, they will be able to identify with the criminals, learn the root cause of their recurrent behaviors, and find the most effective strategy using an evidence-based, more individualized approach. All violent criminals exhibit different traumas and issues that may influence their bad behaviors. Hence, once these healthcare professionals identify the most probable issue with these criminals, the criminal justice system will take the recommendations, thus ensuring that these individuals are released back to society with a lower probability of rearrests.[11] Since the criminal justice system also engages both males and females due to the growth that occurred in American society after World War II, it will help ensure that these evidence-based recommendations engage gender sensitivity. Hence, when assigning the medical practitioners the role of evaluating the criminals’ medical status, the incorporation of male and female practitioners will aid the criminals resonate more with the medical practitioners, thus promoting their wellness.
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In conclusion, the course has been effective since I can now engage in the policymaking process without fear since I have recognized the effectiveness of evidence-based research. Therefore, before submitting any recommendation, there will always be a need to ensure that the recommendations are viable and align with the American Constitution and its initial framers’ intentions. Therefore, next time when evaluating issues concerning the rights of American offenders, I will need to assess individual-centric policies instead of generalization. That is because violent criminals require different behavioral interventions that will enable them to reduce recidivism without parole, thus minimizing instances like prison overcrowding.
Bibliography
Bacchi, Carol. “Policies as gendering practices: Re-viewing categorical distinctions.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 38, no. 1 (2017): 20-41.
Dunoff, Jeffrey L. “Why Constitutionalism Now-Text, Context and Historical Contingency of Ideas.” J. Int’l L & Int’l Rel. 1 (2004): 191.
Hamburger, Philip A. “Natural rights, natural law, and American constitutions.” Yale LJ 102 (1992): 907.
Johnson, S. A. “Understanding the violent personality: Antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, & sociopathy explored.” Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal 7, no. 2 (2019): 76-88.
MacLean, Nancy. Democracy in chains: The deep history of the radical right’s stealth plan for America. Penguin, 2018.
Ossei-Owusu, Shaun. “The sixth amendment façade: The racial evolution of the right to counsel.” U. Pa. L. Rev. 167 (2018): 1161.
Scott, Robert. “The concept of reducing recidivism via college-in-prison: Thoughts on data collection, methodology, and the question of purpose.” Critical Education 9, no. 18 (2018).
Varghese, Femina P., Tania Israel, Guy Seymour, Rachel Becker Herbst, Lauren G. Suarez, and Candice Hargons. “Injustice in the justice system: Reforming inequities for true “justice for all”.” The Counseling Psychologist 47, no. 5 (2019): 682-740.
[1] Hamburger, Philip A. “Natural rights, natural law, and American constitutions.” Yale LJ 102 (1992): 907.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Varghese, Femina P., Tania Israel, Guy Seymour, Rachel Becker Herbst, Lauren G. Suarez, and Candice Hargons. “Injustice in the justice system: Reforming inequities for true “justice for all”.” The Counseling Psychologist 47, no. 5 (2019): 682-740.
[4] MacLean, Nancy. Democracy in chains: The deep history of the radical right’s stealth plan for America. Penguin, 2018.
[5] Dunoff, Jeffrey L. “Why Constitutionalism Now-Text, Context and Historical Contingency of Ideas.” J. Int’l L & Int’l Rel. 1 (2004): 191.
[6] Bacchi, Carol. “Policies as gendering practices: Re-viewing categorical distinctions.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 38, no. 1 (2017): 20-41.
[7] Ossei-Owusu, Shaun. “The sixth amendment façade: The racial evolution of the right to counsel.” U. Pa. L. Rev. 167 (2018): 1161.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Scott, Robert. “The concept of reducing recidivism via college-in-prison: Thoughts on data collection, methodology, and the question of purpose.” Critical Education 9, no. 18 (2018).
[10] Johnson, S. A. “Understanding the violent personality: Antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, & sociopathy explored.” Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal 7, no. 2 (2019): 76-88.
[11] Varghese, Femina P., Tania Israel, Guy Seymour, Rachel Becker Herbst, Lauren G. Suarez, and Candice Hargons. “Injustice in the justice system: Reforming inequities for true “justice for all”.” The Counseling Psychologist 47, no. 5 (2019): 682-740.
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Hello, this essay must have Citations from at least 8 peer-reviewed/scholarly sources and all required readings and presentations. Double-spaced content, Double-spaced. Turabian Format. Must have at least 5 years 2017-2022) of Bibliographical citation. Except required textbook and assigned readings: Hamburger: Chapter 22-25.- 4-5 double-spaced pages of content, not counting the title page or references. Effectively communicates at least 7 connections to “Contemporary Challenges to Constitutional Order.”
Dunoff and Herbert Chapter 15. Must be Plagiarism free. Must have faith based input/ Biblical quotation.
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