Wednesday night, Piper Kerman spoke in the Illini Union Ballroom about her experience in a woman’s prison as well as the necessity of prison reform.

Kerman is the author of “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison,” which has been adapted into a popular Netflix series.

Foremost, Kerman advocated for significant changes in the criminal justice system.

For instance, she said that Americans need to examine the way in which race and socio-economic status affects the ways that prisoners are sentenced. For example, she argued being a racial minority can mean a harsher sentence. 

And data backs up that claim. One article in the The Wall Street Journal from 2013 stated that black men received sentences that are on average 20 percent longer than the sentences white men received for similar crimes.

Kerman suggested that minorities, more often than white people, use a general defender lawyer rather than hiring one. General defenders are often overworked which may contribute to unfair sentences for their clients. 

And sentences affected by race cannot exist in a country that claims to have a criminal justice system that operates on the notion of equality.

Considering current events regarding sentencing and race such as the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, this is an issue that Americans need to address.

We need to investigate our criminal sentencing system to ensure that racism, as well as socio-economic status, don’t have any effect on a person’s sentence.

Kerman commented that incarceration rates are climbing. According to The Sentencing Project, from 1972 to 2010, there was a 500 percent increase in the number of prisoners. 

What’s worse is that many people are serving extensive time for non-violent crimes. A report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that as of 2012, there were 3,278 prisoners serving life sentences for non-violent crimes.

Some of those crimes include shoplifting. It is almost fantastical to think that there are people serving life sentences for shoplifting. Obviously, the punishment far outweighs the crime. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the sentencing laws and process of the United States does not approach a satisfactory level.

When we graduate from college and become the next generation of policy makers, police officers and voters, this will be an important issue to consider.

And moving beyond the manner in which people are sentenced, brutality occurs within prisons with alarming frequency.

Kerman said women are sometimes forced to give birth while in shackles, and solitary confinement is used, at times, as a punishment for low-level offenses. She also said that there is often a large problem with sexual assault of women prisoners by male correctional officers.

Further, she commented that re-entering society can be incredibly difficult for some prisoners once they are released. Fortunately, Kerman did more than illuminate issues in the justice system; she also suggested solutions.

She said that we need to re-examine our sentencing laws to see if we can find more fitting punishments for low-level and non-violent crimes.

Kerman points out that sending a person to prison not only severely affects his or her life, but also the life of that person’s family. As such, it should only be used as a punishment when absolutely necessary and for the most appropriate duration.

She also spoke about the University of Illinois and investing more in education rather than incarceration.

“This is the kind of public institution we want,” Kerman said. “When we have communities that have great public schools and universities that have hospitals, that have great libraries, that have arts institutions, here’s what we find: Those places are vibrant and prosperous places to live. And guess what: They’re also safe. If we want public safety, we have to invest in those institutions.”

I completely agree. Education and awareness is the key to many societal benefits, including public safety.

It is true that much of the American population does not have a direct connection to prison culture. Many of us attending the University may have never been to a prison before. 

Therefore, it is often relatively easy to push major issues occurring in prisons from our minds.

But the problem is still there, regardless of whether or not we can physical see it. And it must be corrected.

Alex is a junior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].