School to Prison Pipeline among the Deaf - Assignment Example

How might the school to the prison pipeline concept be applied to Deaf adolescents?
While most juvenile incarceration facilities are filled with children from relatively poor families, some are populated by children with disabilities. Most disabled children are easily subjected to ungovernability and truancy charges. According to Miller (2008, P. 113, C.2, Para. 1), there were97 deaf inmates at the Texas State Prison with 61% of them being convicted of violent offenses, 19% of illegal drug violations and 11% were convicted of other petty crimes like indecent exposure.

Various schools are obligated to single out students with special needs like deafness and give them specialized treatment (Tulman, & Weck, 2010, P. 878, Para. 2). Failure to efficiently adopt these, deaf students will be more vulnerable to committing various crimes. Additionally, deaf students are likely to commit status offenses which are, by classification, a particular category of non-criminal misbehaviors, (Tulman, & Weck, 2010, P. 879, Para. 2). even though the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act (JJDPA) has advocated for the deinstitutionalization of status offenses, several deaf offenders have ended up in correctional facilities.

2. Are there current instances of cruel and unusual punishment displayed toward deaf offenders in prison?
Due to their perceived naivety and disabilities, deaf inmates are highly vulnerable to sexual assaults and other discriminations in prisons, Vernon (2010, P.311, C.2, Para. 2). Additionally, some are subjected to forced treatments against their will in the correctional facilities. Subsequently, most prisons even do not know their deaf inmates making it hard for them to get access to parole services. Moreover, it is uncommon for the jury to incarcerate deaf defendants experiencing linguistic incompetence, Miller (2008, P. 117, C.2, Para. 2).

For instance, the case of Mr. J, who was deafened by meningitis at, aged of 3. Mr. J was treated harshly by a policewoman after he accidentally scratched a Corvette at a dinner. After being assaulted by more policemen, he was jailed without treatment. Additionally, he was tried without an interpreter. About 40% of deaf defenders experience communication barriers like that of Mr. J, (Vernon, & Miller, 2005, P. 150, C. 2, Para. 1).
In conclusion, incarcerated deaf persons are supposed to be rehabilitated as opposed to imprisoned. Read More