Dehumanized: Over-sentencing and Over-incarceration

In 2009, MarQui Clardy, Sr. was given a prison sentence of five LIFE terms plus 53 years in prison, which set a Virginia state record for offenses in which no one was physically injured. In this first-of-its-kind essay, MarQui chronicles his personal journey through the criminal justice system - from the court process to the city jail to the state prison - while exploring the roots of the "tough on crime" legislation that not only paved the way for his extreme sentencing, but also led to the U.S. having the highest incarceration rate in the entire world.