Question

Read the excerpts from "Wrongful Convictions” by John R. Firman and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

"Wrongful Convictions”

Funding and resources. Many things you’d like to fix—whether it’s training, whether it’s getting more DNA evidence, whether it’s getting it faster—a lot of this stuff takes a lot of money, so certainly money, dollars, and resources were discussed generally, policies and training.

Just Mercy

Finally, we spend lots of money. Spending on jails and prisons by state and federal governments has risen from $6.9 billion in 1980 to nearly $80 billion today. . . . State governments have been forced to shift funds from public services, education, health, and welfare to pay for incarceration, and they now face unprecedented economic crises as a result. The privatization of prison health care, prison commerce, and a range of services has made mass incarceration a money-making windfall for a few and a costly nightmare for the rest of us.

Which statement best describes the relationship between the evidence in the two excerpts?

Both excerpts show that increasing the budget for the criminal justice system will decrease crime rates.
Both excerpts show that the criminal justice system does not have a suitable budget to make changes.
The Just Mercy excerpt shows that funding for criminal justice systems is ineffective, while the “Wrongful Convictions” excerpt says the funding is necessary.

Answer 1

The third statement.

Just Mercy criticizes large criminal-justice spending as ineffective and harmful (money funneled into incarceration and privatization), while Wrongful Convictions argues more funding/resources are needed to make reforms (training, faster DNA testing, policies).