Pleаse see the prоmpt thаt I submitted tо ChаtGPT and what ChatGPT spit оut for it below: Dear ChatGPT: Please write an essay for the following prompt: Explain the major themes of: the 13th documentary, the Crack: Cocaine, Corruption, and Conspiracy documentary, and The New Jim Crow book. How do they compare to recent data about each area of the criminal justice system (ex. police, courts, and corrections)? Here is the essay response from ChatGPT below in italics (this is what you need to copy-paste into the submission box to edit FYI): Title: Racial Injustice and Mass Incarceration: A Comparative Analysis of 13th, Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy, and The New Jim Crow with Current Criminal Justice Data In recent years, the American criminal justice system has come under intense scrutiny for its disproportionate targeting and punishment of people of color, particularly Black Americans. The documentary films 13th (directed by Ava DuVernay) and Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy (produced by Netflix), along with Michelle Alexander’s seminal book The New Jim Crow, each examine the roots, evolution, and consequences of systemic racism in policing, courts, and corrections. When compared to recent data on the U.S. criminal justice system, the themes presented in these works remain highly relevant and strongly supported. Thematic Overview The central theme of 13th is that mass incarceration is a direct continuation of slavery. The documentary focuses on the loophole in the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery “except as punishment for a crime.” This clause allowed the U.S. to rebuild a racial caste system through the criminalization of Blackness. The film details how political rhetoric—from Nixon’s “war on drugs” to Clinton’s 1994 crime bill—played a role in the rapid growth of the prison population and how corporate interests profited from this growth through private prisons. Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy explores the devastating impact of the crack epidemic on Black communities in the 1980s and 1990s. It highlights how harsh sentencing laws, such as the 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine, were racially biased. The documentary also raises questions about government complicity in allowing drugs to infiltrate poor, urban neighborhoods, while failing to provide addiction treatment or economic support. In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander argues that the mass incarceration system functions as a modern-day racial caste system. She explains that the “colorblind” nature of drug laws masks a deeply racist system where people of color—particularly Black men—are disproportionately arrested, sentenced, and then legally discriminated against as felons in housing, employment, and voting rights. Like 13th, the book emphasizes the role of the drug war and political manipulation in creating and maintaining this system. Comparison with Criminal Justice System Data The themes in all three sources are strongly reflected in recent data from the criminal justice system. Policing is the entry point into this system, and the data shows clear racial disparities. According to Mapping Police Violence (2023), Black Americans are 2.4 times more likely to be killed by police than white Americans. The New York Civil Liberties Union reported that in 2019, over 85% of people stopped by NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy were Black or Latino, despite similar crime rates across racial groups. Moreover, the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting system showed that although Black people represent only 13% of the U.S. population, they made up 27% of drug-related arrests in 2021. These statistics support the argument made in all three works that policing practices disproportionately target Black communities, often for nonviolent offenses. The court system is another area where systemic bias becomes evident. A 2017 report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that Black defendants receive sentences that are 19.1% longer on average than white defendants for similar crimes. The overwhelming reliance on plea deals—used in over 95% of felony convictions according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics—often coerces defendants into pleading guilty regardless of actual guilt, especially when they lack access to quality legal defense. While the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act reduced the crack-to-powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1, it still disproportionately affects Black Americans, validating the concerns raised in Crack and The New Jim Crow. In terms of corrections, the U.S. continues to lead the world in incarceration. As of 2024, over 1.9 million people are incarcerated in the U.S., according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Black men are incarcerated at a rate of 1,848 per 100,000, compared to 275 per 100,000 for white men (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022). Private prison populations grew by 12.1% from 2021 to 2023 (The Sentencing Project), reinforcing the theme in 13th about the profit-driven nature of mass incarceration. Furthermore, the Prison Policy Initiative reports that formerly incarcerated individuals face an unemployment rate of 27%, nearly five times the national average, making reintegration nearly impossible—just as Alexander warns in The New Jim Crow. Conclusion The documentary 13th, the film Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy, and Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow each expose how racism is embedded in the American criminal justice system. From over-policing to biased sentencing and the long-term consequences of incarceration, these sources paint a picture of a system that has evolved, but not eliminated, racial oppression. Recent data on policing, courts, and corrections confirm these portrayals, revealing that mass incarceration is not simply a matter of crime control, but a deliberate policy framework with racialized outcomes. These works, together with current statistics, compel a national reckoning with the true purpose and consequences of our justice system. Now for your final exam: Please copy the above essay response into the submission area and then edit/add to it in RED so that I can easily see what changes you make (this is REQUIRED). Your task is this: Update/fix information (surprise, ChatGPT isn't up to date on the studies, so certain information is wrong, outdated, or from non-reputable sources that we didn't use in this class) and ADD more from what you've learned in this class, specifically with the data, research, studies, documentaries, etc. that were used IN this class (this is required - I only want to see information included that we went over in this class, specifically - see the Outside Resources and Podcast episodes to help you - and be sure to CITE the material you use). ChatGPT doesn't know what we used, so it's time for you to put on your own thinking cap and apply what you've learned! It would also be useful to include more state and local data, as the ChatGPT response relies mainly on national level data, so please make sure to add this information in too... Additionally, the summary of the themes from The New Jim Crow, the 13th documentary, and the Crack: Cocaine, Corruption, and Conspiracy documentary could all use some work. Add more of your own thoughts to this section too.