Stop building new prisons

[bluestateguy]

Prisons have become big, big business in America today. We now have more than 2 million people in prison, more than in any country in the world, including the Third World. I propose a moriatorium on all prison construction in America. We have enough prisons, and building mroe and more only gives politicians and judges more incentives to send ever more people to prision. If prison spaces were limited, politicians and judges would have to make choices about who really truly deserved to be sent to jail and who was worthy of rehabilitation. They might also think about releasing the hordes of non-violent drug offenders, leaving more space for violent criminals and white collar criminals (who I think should be housed in maximum security prisions). A moriatorium is the first step toward real criminal justice reform.

[slackmaster]

1. Prison construction is a symptom

You don't cure a disease by treating its symptoms. The problem is the War On (some) Drugs. I say treat addiction as a medical problem even if that includes locking addicts up until they are clean and able to function without abusing drugs. Reserve prison space for people who engage in unlawful commerce in drugs.

Nobody should go to prison for merely possessing a drug (any drug) for personal use.

[ixion]

6. even if that includes locking addicts up

that's the current problem. Locking people up for using drugs, for non violent behaviour, is ridiculous.

[WindRavenX]

2. I believe

...I believe there is a telling stat that was dug up somewhere earlier this year that stated the US incarcerates more people than any other country in the world as a percentage of population.
And a high percentage of it is for petty, non-violent crimes such as marijuana related offenses.

[Terwilliger]

3. stop supporting Democrats then

they're the ones authorizing the prisons...they're the ones continuing the drug war...

[RobertSeattle]

4. Where else are we going to put the Bush Administration in 2005?

:evilgrin:

[Caution]

5. While I agree with you to a point

Your statement about putting white collar criminals into maximum security prisons is both ignorant and stupid. The reason a maximum security prison exists is to protect the inmates from one another, protect the community from those inmates and to provide maximum security for the people tasked with guarding them. As such, the *only* people who belong in a maximum security prison are violent offenders and those who are a "flight risk"

Being in any kind of prison is no picnic regardless of what you may have heard about "Club Fed" This is just another bullshit tactic used by the prison industry in order to make people more outraged about the "criminal class"

Do some research, ask someone who has been incarcerated what it is like to know that:

1.) you have no freedom to leave
2.) you cannot visit with your family without supervision
3.) you cannot support your family
4.) you won't get to share in the joy of everyday life with your family
5.) when and if you get out your life will forever be tainted with what the rest of society views as a criminal class (yes even those first time non-violent marijuana offenders are discriminated against in the job market, and in society in general...why is it that everyone seems to think that prison-rape is a funny thing? something to joke about? Especially when it is mostly a myth.)

Losing one's freedom is not a trivial thing, regardless if you have the "luxury" of being in a minimum security facility. Additionally, thanks to the misguided efforts of one man named Zimmerman, prison life will get a lot harder over the next few years. (Zimmerman's daughter was raped and killed by an ex-felon.) This ex-felon had become a weight lifter in prison and become simply HUGE. Zimmerman decided that it must be the weight-lifting that caused this so he lobbied washington to pass a bill disallowing the purchase of new equipment and disallowing prison staff to give any form of weight training advice or instruction. This includes things like treadmills, free weights, dumbbells, weight machines, basketballs, footballs, any physical activity related item. Because anything related to being "tough on crime" instantly is a good PR move for a politician this bill was passed.

I'm not advocating criminality, but people need to be educated about our country in this arena. A large portion of out population resides in prisons. The reason for this is primarily the drug war.

Myths about the federal prison system:

1.) Prison rape (this is no more common than rape in the outside world)
2.) Club Fed - Spend a month away from your family, without contributing anything to their well-being and welfare, multiply this times 10 years. Sound like a great vacation to you? Being able to watch the community TV doesn't exactly sound much like club fed anymore does it?
3.) parole - Parole doesnt exist in the federal system. You get 45 days of time off for good behavior each year. If you get a sentence of 20 years you don't get out in 5. You get out in 17 years if you manage to stay out of trouble for that entire time.
4.) Rehabilitation - The federal prison system abandoned the idea of rehabilitation in the 1970's. The prison system is now considered punitive
5.) Judges routinely give people light sentences - In the federal prison system the judge has pretty much 0 leeway. The prosecuting attorney determines the sentence along with strict guidelines (x amount of crack equals y months. X amount of money bilked from the public = y months). Federal judges deviate from these guidelines less than 5% of the time. (You may have heard the figure 20% thrown around..this is another lie. Most of the time this is due to the prosecuting attorney giving a deal for cooperating with the government - almost always putting someone else behind bars in order to save one's own skin).

Most people end up in prison due to one thing. Lack of education.

You worry about white collar criminals who spend time in mimimum security prisons, well, these people are suffering for their crimes. 5 years of one's life is a LONG time. Think back to what you have done in the past five years, the people you have met, the people who have died, the things your children have accomplished, the jobs you have worked. You may have moved, gotten a college education, fallen in love. Now just spend that whole five years of your life doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, missing out on everything. In the federal system, getting 5 years is getting off light, the escalation of the federal sentencing guidelines is incredible. People get five years for a spoonful of crack! The entire system needs reform.