What is Digg?466 Comments
- OBDriftwood, on 02/29/2008, -9/+228And only half of those are serving time for violent crimes. The other half are serving time for non-violent crimes, mostly drug and property offenses. We can build more jails or we can re-evaluate what prison is for.
- SpeshulEd, on 02/29/2008, -11/+190It's past time to release the non-violent marijuana smokers. We need to inform everyone we can about the injustices of the drug war and end our ever increasing police state.
- nicholai, on 02/29/2008, -15/+141This article doesn't even include the millions that are on probation, terrorist watch lists or some other form of limited bondage. Anyone that still calls America "the land of the free" is either lying or retarded.
- contemplative, on 02/29/2008, -3/+92The article also doesn't mention that our prisons and jails have become dumping grounds for the mentally ill.
- theNazz, on 02/29/2008, -18/+94Definitely time to review the US legal/prison system... how can anybody inside the USA pretend to be free?
- nicholai, on 02/29/2008, -5/+75We need to release/pardon everyone that has been arrested on drug related charges and end the ENTIRE "war on drugs". Ending the war on cannabis would just be one small step in the right direction but the government does not have the right to tell us what drugs we can/can't use.
- InspectorGadget, on 02/29/2008, -6/+49Drug offenses I agree should be treated differently. Property crimes should still send people to jail. They aren't "victimless" crimes.
- LupeFiasco, on 02/29/2008, -2/+39Prisons are big business. I don't see the situation changing anytime soon. I remember seeing a documentary showing how small towns all over the U.S bid/want prisons built in their town to give a big boost to the economy.
- nicholai, on 02/29/2008, -10/+45If the government has the right to decide what drugs we can use. They should also have the right to tell us what to wear, how to walk, talk, sleep, eat and everything else. Heroin and cocaine are both pain killers and were used as such before the "war on drugs". You are simply a blind hypocrite that wants to do your drug of choice while allowing the police to violate our rights in the name of fighting other drugs.
- Devachan, on 02/29/2008, -2/+37Do a google search for 'prison stocks' and you'll see that corporate owned prison complexes are big money makers. There's something vastly wrong in this society when billions of dollars are being made to keep people incarcerated.
- diggality, on 02/29/2008, -6/+40It's time for some seri0us introspection here. What's wrong with us?
- blazes816, on 02/29/2008, -1/+34I'm fine with them telling me coke, heroin and meth are bad for me. I'm not fine with them telling me I can't do it.
- FluffyWolf, on 02/29/2008, -1/+31And the majority of those imprisoned are male (more than 90% of the total prison population), so close to 2% of the grown male population is at the moment behind bars.
- Waskonator, on 02/29/2008, -2/+28I'm not in jail
- gigasquid, on 02/29/2008, -3/+29...while the war criminals Bush and Cheney are walking around free, laughing.
- inactive, on 02/29/2008, -0/+25So you're for banning cigarettes, alcohol, and McDonalds, right? RIGHT?
- Disinterested, on 02/29/2008, -2/+25Who wants to sign my petition to legalize marijuana?
- norman619, on 02/29/2008, -2/+25Best reason to legalize drugs.
- pimpofpixels, on 02/29/2008, -3/+24So much for that whole "land of the free" thing.
- 3tcp, on 02/29/2008, -2/+22Our prisons are just trade schools for training criminals. Come in as an apprentice for stealing cars or dealing drugs, join a prison gang to learn the tools of the trade and leave with a first class education in breaking the law.
People who go to prison aren't very well educated and ex-cons have a hell of a time getting decent jobs. It'd be hard to work hard all week for a $300 paycheck when you know that with just a few phone calls you'd be ready to make two or three times as much without breaking a sweat.
I don't buy the argument that having 1% of adults in prison reduces the crime rate because those people are going to cause a lot of crime after they're released with all the stuff they learn and people they meet. - kinseyincanada, on 02/29/2008, -1/+20The simple fact that someone should go to prison for being high is absolutely retarded, NO ONE has the right to tell you what to do.
- FluffyWolf, on 02/29/2008, -4/+23Yes, lets check how Iran compares...
Iran has a population of 65.4 million, lets say 40 million adults (an estimate that is a bit on the low side just to make the US look slightly better), and they have a prison population of 130000 (don't know if that includes people in local jails). So roughly 1 in 300 is behind bars of the adult population in Iran, a third of the US imprisonment rate.
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php? ...
http://www.google.com/search?q=population+iran - RonJon715, on 02/29/2008, -2/+20I think your missing the point...it's none of the governments goddamn business what you put in your body. When what your doing affects other people, i.e. a car accident, then it becomes their problem.
- whatthefu, on 02/29/2008, -5/+23Not everything is about marijuana. This is a much larger issue.
- Doomsan, on 02/29/2008, -3/+21Drug War, lol
- FluffyWolf, on 02/29/2008, -1/+19Nope, it does not say that. It says that Hispanic and Black males are overrepresented in jail, not that they are the majority in jail.
- bphicke, on 02/29/2008, -1/+18I think he was referring to victimless crimes.
- santiago1, on 02/29/2008, -5/+22 Yeah, I've done time.... 6 months. What'd I do? Posted a lame comment on a social news website called Digg....
What're you in for? - worldinmyeyes, on 02/29/2008, -1/+171 percent, huh? Yet it's ironic that probably 70 to 80 percent of our elected "leaders" - you know, the ones who are writing these laws - should be behind bars. Don't know what's a bigger fraud, the war on terror or the war on drugs.
P.S. - CIA Torture Jet wrecks with 4 Tons of COCAINE (from mid-December 07):
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/12/19210 ... - kevro, on 02/29/2008, -2/+18I live in Canada, it's pretty hard to get serious jail time hear. you pretty much have to threaten the Queen, punch the prime minister and piss off the French.
- KittySpark1es, on 02/29/2008, -1/+17The western half of Australia could hold some more people.
- dragonrice, on 02/29/2008, -4/+20I bet most of those people are in jail for something like not showing their receipt to the doorman or for following the law and getting thrown into jail anyways.
- sgtpppr, on 02/29/2008, -0/+15The worst part is that American prison is the farthest thing from rehabilitation there is. Whoever thought that surrounding killers with killers would help them be a better part of society... Whoever thought that surrounding a guy sho got busted for marijuana with killers should be in jail themselves.
- inactive, on 02/29/2008, -3/+18Zmann thinks he's free. Yep, you're free not to drive to work tomorrow. You're free to close your checking account. You're free to stop paying your bills. Do any of these things and you will be broke, credit poor and ultimately joining the 1% locked-up. Unless of course you're rich. Which in this country is the only thing that will make you somewhat free to do what you want. Otherwise get back in the system bitch and get your ass back to work.
- openj, on 02/29/2008, -8/+22America operates prisons like any other system. There are individuals who get rich by screwing other individuals, and they give money to politicians to enact laws which ensure a steady stream of offenders. The only reason any of you aren't in jail is that your lottery number hasn't been called. Every single person in America is currently guilty of at least one offense which could land them in prison, and your time may soon come.
It's the Prison Industrial Complex, and you're long past the point of using words to stop it. The simple fact is that the only thing that can stop this system from getting worse, like everything else in America, is an uprising of people willing to be branded as terrorists to reclaim their birthright, freedom.
Remember, your forefathers were terrorists too. - inactive, on 02/29/2008, -10/+24It can be explained in terms of the class war. Just like any mechanism that shovels money from taxpayers to private contractors. Like NASA, like the war, all of that stuff is a huge, inefficient mechanism to transfer money into the pockets of the establishment plutocracy.
- dizturbd2, on 02/29/2008, -1/+15Replace that bottle of Jack Daniels with a pack of Marlboro Marijuana cigarettes. Then there will be a drop in crime due to the calmer mentality. That would hopefully result in less crime, thus fewer prisoners. It might get some judges to get rid of whatever it was that crawled up their ass and made them intolerable and quick to render judgement on their own personal feelings about things instead of the reality of the whole. ~~
- Hangly, on 02/29/2008, -1/+14Originally prison was for studying the Bible all day. That's where the "penitent" in penitentiary comes from.
- HauntedTank, on 02/29/2008, -2/+15Blame Canada!
- 140Suffolk, on 02/29/2008, -1/+14Ask the 56 year old black woman who gets her week's pay stolen whether there are too many black men in jail. Most of the crimes committed by black men have black people as victims.
- chrisaug18, on 02/29/2008, -0/+13Right now there is 2.5 people in prison who can't digg this story
- zxcasd, on 02/29/2008, -1/+14and 1 in 100 americans work at walmart
- norman619, on 02/29/2008, -1/+13Sorry but you are full of *****. It is not the job of the government to tell me what I can't do for my own good. Why not make extreme sports illegal? How about driving a car? Smoking in general? Fatty foods? Candy? Grow some balls and start taking responsibility for your own life.
- norman619, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11I suggest you look up communism because it is painfully obvious you don't have a clue what it is. Thanks for sharing your ignorance.
- LeeSoong, on 02/29/2008, -3/+143 smokes = 3 strikes = Life in prison, teen boy !
Some people see the three strikes and life as a bit over zealous... - Lewie, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11Jail is a great place for criminals to network. My brother went to jail for drug possession and distribution, and he came out with a few more "business partners" and a worse attitude. He doesn't need time surrounded by worse people, he needs rehabilitation.
And now that he's out, he has probation and a lot of other fines to pay. He has to pay to get his license back, but cannot pay that fine without a job. He can't get a decent job (one that will pay his fines and living expenses) without a reliable method of transportation. My mother can only do so much for him, and I'm at college so I can't do much for him.
How does he get out of this loop? Has jail helped his situation? And was his crime even worth jail or fines? Our system is ***** up. - bigbooger, on 02/29/2008, -1/+11We need to lock up more white women...
"only one in 355 white women between the ages of 35 and 39 are behind...."
America is definitely slacking off on the ivory gals... put more of em' in prison goddammit! - bphicke, on 02/29/2008, -1/+11@akampurph, just because there are places in the world that are worse does not mean we cannot improve and become better.
- orxor, on 02/29/2008, -2/+12Don't forget income tax, basically government saying it owns all your labor and then giving you back only a part of what you earned.
- ptFoe, on 02/29/2008, -7/+171 in 5 should be behind bars i.e. Bush's approval rating
morons -
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