"If people are tired of discussing the Iran deal we could move on to Obama's next project, reform in the criminal justice system, which I think is quite likely to be another win for him." Laurie
President Obama Is Right: Americans of All Stripes Strongly Support Reducing the Country's Prison Population
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11 comments:
At first I thought that link was to some sort of news article. I figured it would have a slightly Left bias since it was HP, but after reading awhile it became clear that it definitely is an opinion piece by a far Lefter.
Alison Holcomb Director, ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice
I'll need to do some more research.
I enjoy research as I watch TV and came up with 2 more links (only one from the far left):
Strange Bedfellows: Why Are the Koch Brothers & Van Jones Teaming Up to End Mass Incarceration?
Can Bipartisanship End Mass Incarceration?
NYT Prison Article
Even Fox seems to think change is pending.
Maybe progress will be made.
As for hospitals instead of prisons, I think the jury is still out.
St Peter Assault
Now I am having challenges with a link.
Strange Bed Fellows
Obama may at last have stumbled on a legitimate issue, but as usual his assumptions about causes and his proposed solutions follow the old adage about what happens when you ASS U ME. He makes the speech to the NAACP, notice, because he (secretly, perhaps) thinks there is something racist about our prison system. He obviously thinks that drug laws and drug crime are No Big Deal because HE broke those laws, and look where HE ended up. And his solution to a too-high prison population is to just let a bunch of these criminals out on the street, so that the prison population is lower. Wow! Why didn't we think of that?! Maybe because we think laws should be followed and that criminals should be punished?
Snark aside, the REAL solution here is to just do what backwards old Mississippi has been doing for a generation. That is, for non-violent offenders, first offense, we offer a unique sort of parole system. They are immediately sentenced back to their home community, to live in a supervised "dormitory" setting. They receive drug counseling and testing if needed. They are employed in the community, matched to their skills, etc. as possible, and pay for their housing out of their wages. Not sure, but they may also pay some restitution. Point being, that at the end of their sentence they have a job in their home community and the real second chance that Obama spoke so speciously about. Oh, and if they walk away from the job and don't report back to the dormitory on time, it's helicopters, bloodhounds and shotguns. It's still Mississippi.
From a purely conservative viewpoint, our incarceration rate is an economic and cultural problem. Cultural because we don't have enough "social norming" so that people's inner moral compass keeps them inside the law. Economic because the only real wealth is produced by people working, and housing and feeding an idle population is a waste of wealth. Like welfare, only worse, and IMHO similarly destructive of personal freedom and human potential.
Kind of related if you squint a bit.
MP Real Justice
Oh, and as for the drug laws, we could model those after one proposed in Minnesota. The idea here was that the drugs would remain illegal, but would be taxed. Ever item sold (we assume on the baggie) would be required to have a tax stamp on it. The cost of the stamp would be roughly equal to the street price of the drug, but they could be purchased anonymously and never used as a means of identifying the purchaser for legal scrutiny. So, because of the high tax on these stamps, one presumes the average dealer (and certainly not user) wouldn't be buying them, thus making every act of possession a matter of tax avoidance. You wouldn't even have to have the drug on your person. If it was in your house with no stamp, you're guilty, period.
Now here is where it gets really good. You're going to go to jail for tax evasion, or pay the tax due plus a hefty fine. BUT, if you will provide information on another tax "cheat," (your dealer), you get off with a warning, and a reward (finder fee) (and maybe a recommendation for treatment). So, your dealer gets caught with a BIGGER tax bill and fine, and this process quickly "rolls up" to the big guys and THEY go to jail, just like Al Capone did, for tax problems. Why we aren't doing this, I don't know.
Speaking of what happens when you ASS U ME...
"He obviously thinks that drug laws and drug crime are No Big Deal because HE broke those laws, and look where HE ended up."
Good heavens! Do you read what you write?
Joel
Joel, I write what I write. Feel free to take issue with what is clearly written, unless you think it is confusing. Do you?
I simply don't abide hypocrisy very well.
Peace.
Joel
Then Obama must drive you absolutely bonkers.
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