Women incarcerated as innocent bystanders
I was doing some research and I came across this. There are quite a few innocent women doing time due to thier association with drug users/dealers.
"Because women are often minor participants in criminal
economies (Radosh, 2002), they are especially
affected by mandatory minimum sentencing laws. For
example, under the drug-conspiracy mandatory minimum
laws, a woman can be incarcerated for several
years for driving her boyfriend to a place where he
buys drugs or for picking up the phone at her house
where he sells drugs (Gaskins, 2004). Women are
tied to these criminal elements because of personal
relationships, yet the court cannot consider these relationships
when sentencing (Raeder, 1993). Additionally,
women are less likely to be able to provide the
prosecution with insider information—the only consideration
that can shorten the mandatory minimum—because
they are less likely to know much about the
criminal activity. Furthermore, women may not want
to inform on their partners and family members, either
out of love or out of fear."
(Gaskins, 2004).
Sources: U.S. Census, Demographic Profiles, 2000; U.S. Census,
Educational Attainment, 2000.
From-
"Reducing the Incarceration of Women:
Community-Based Alternatives"
-Angela Wolf, Ph.D.
SPECIAL REPORT
from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. 2006