My first Magazine Final Draft Multimodal Project 4 | Page 19

prison does not steal the soul of the convicted parties, nor do participants in the program have to
worry about their safety. Clearly alternative sentencing is not for everyone. Violent offenders and
flight risks will not be accepted into the program as they pose an unwarranted threat to communi-
ties. However, for suitable candidates, such as nonviolent drug offenders, programs such as elec-
tronic monitoring are highly preferable to going to prison.
Alternative sentencing provides at least a partial solution to the mass incarceration epidemic that
America has found itself in. A close examination of the effectiveness of minimum mandatory
sentencing is critical to reforming America’s flawed practice of sending nonviolent drug offend-
ers to state and federal prisons that could help alleviate America’s mass incarceration problem.
Studies have determined that fewer than five percent of such offenders are flight risks (Spohn 39)
and allowing technology such as electronic monitoring bracelets to be implemented by parole
officers would help free up badly needed space in our jails.