What is Digg?192 Comments
- SouthernGuy118, on 07/22/2008, -7/+79Nothing will ever be done about it so long as U.S. citizens embrace the culture of fear. We are taught to be afraid of everything and to over-estimate the scope of problems. I grew up in an extremely well-off neighborhood. Still, we constantly heard about keeping crime off of our streets. The worst crime to ever happen there in 18 years was a drug deal. Only one. The rest of our supposed "crime" consisted of minor vandalism by 13 y/o punks. (by minor vandalism i mean destruction of lawn ornaments.) Even in this neighborhood, people wouldn't go outside after dark.
The prison population will continue to clime until we get over our fear and realize that possession of pot isn't an offense punishable by a life sentence. - rearlgrant, on 07/22/2008, -4/+31Good article. The author missed the chance to critique the profit motive of private prisons. http://www.justiceworks.info/index.php?module=page ...
- dbr2k, on 07/23/2008, -2/+29that's what you get when you lock someone up for setting fire to a piece of plant and inhaling.....
- whereisian, on 07/23/2008, -5/+31I find it disgusting that the prison system in the US if for profit. Why is 1 in 100 locked up? It makes someone money.
- FairDinkumMate, on 07/23/2008, -4/+29"Statistics show that..." WHAT statistics? Where are your SOURCES?
I could write:
Statistics show that people like poprocksandsoda who don't quote their sources usually do so because they just made the ***** up or the sources are highly questionable! - mercurywaxing, on 07/23/2008, -11/+34Thank god I'm White.
- orlyfactor, on 07/22/2008, -6/+29We're #1 (in 4)!
- MoClippa, on 07/23/2008, -2/+25Obligatory - "land of the free?"
- vegetables, on 07/23/2008, -2/+24The number of imprisoned drug offenders is just preposterous. I think that's a good place to start rethinking policy. Instead of the War on Drugs...legalize and rehabilitate?
- RogueMountie, on 07/23/2008, -0/+21...but Canada has the world's largest supply of beavers and beaver related paraphernalia.
- xexx, on 07/23/2008, -1/+21gg lying.
"From 1995 to 2003, inmates incarcerated in federal prisons for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic ... - GorfTron, on 07/23/2008, -10/+30We still can make room for Bush.
- inactive, on 07/23/2008, -4/+24I heard once that something like 80% of the people imprisoned in the United States are for victimless crimes, or crimes against the state. Don't ever confuse legality, and morality.
- orlyfactor, on 07/22/2008, -3/+20Maybe if they reformed the draconian drug laws in the US, that number would drop significantly.
- Fastbullit, on 07/23/2008, -0/+15Land of the imprisoned and home of the frightened.
- JCPahl, on 07/23/2008, -3/+18Many of our prisons are privately run, and the corporations that own the prisons then lobby for tougher laws. It also helps that our ridiculous 'justice' system imprisons people for marijuana use and other victimless crimes. "Land of the Free" my ass.
- travis1982, on 07/23/2008, -1/+15Seriously, poprock has to be an idiot. Drug offenses make up for at least half of the prison population. That's one of the big plus's of decriminalizing weed, it would cut drug offenses significantly. The US has an absurd view of looking at drugs in the legal system. A large percentage of the people with drug offenses are non-violent criminals and really have no business being in prison. The US also has a harsh stigma that follows the "criminals" for life, learned helplessness is why the prison population are so high. Some things that have really worked in Canada are the youth criminal justice act, pardons..which I'm getting right now thank god, prison programs that work, and a variety of parole options that give ex-cons second chances. As great as the US is, they have a horrible criminal legal system.
- CrazedLeper, on 07/22/2008, -17/+30Hypocrite nation of idiots. There isn't anything wrong; this is exactly what your government wants and has always wanted. They didn't kill all the Native Americans so they could share the land with Africans. There couldn't possibly be this many criminals in the country but because *certain* people don't want to co-exist with other people, covert means have been employed to address the needs of the evil at the expense of the innocent in ways that the courts won't block ("separate but equal", anyone?). Indeed, the courts promote this method. You know this method as the "war on drugs."
- inactive, on 07/23/2008, -3/+15Prison system in US is a big business, don't forget about that.
- duckduckswan, on 07/23/2008, -4/+14it can be solved in two simple words: "legalize it"
- XISUPERMANIX, on 07/23/2008, -2/+10It's the legal system, whenever someone is sentenced to death they have to make sure he is 100% guilty. Don't act like nobody has ever been falsely accused, convicted and served lengthy prison terms before they were released because of new DNA evidence or other evidence.
- jerrykew, on 07/23/2008, -0/+8I seriously doubt whether you have travelled much. I am European, and have travelled extensively. The USA is one of the countries where I feel least safe.
- minnymoo, on 07/23/2008, -3/+10Let's go to France instead; unlimited sick days from work.
- Visarga, on 07/23/2008, -1/+8Unless you live in a ghetto, in which case you are 10 times more probable to go to prison, or you are non-white.
- CrazedLeper, on 07/22/2008, -3/+10Which is exactly why they don't reform the laws. They wanted it this way.
- WoollyMittens, on 07/23/2008, -2/+9Privatized prisons, like all corporations, strive for maximized profit and perpetual growth. Why is everyone surprised that little is done about this growth market?
- kakwakas, on 07/23/2008, -2/+9Or not.
- macplenty, on 07/23/2008, -0/+6Alcohol is legal and there are plenty of alcohol abuse treatment centers in the US. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, then that's a you problem, not a governmental one.
- Visarga, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6It's the productivity of the victimless crime minimal punishment statutes.
- sodade, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5I think that the courts (and court appointed professionals) should take a long, hard look at someone they are sentencing. Basically, if the person is going to come out of jail worse for society than when they came in, you gotta figure out another way to deal with them. Putting a non-violent criminal into the regular prison system will make a worse criminal.
The republican view is that criminals need to be punished and who cares about rehabilitation. This is an anti-social view that spits on pragmatic solutions. - charlietuna, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5How big are your *****?
- mithrasinvictus, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6How do you explain the explosively rising numbers of drug related deaths since the war on drugs started? Isn't that what it is supposed to be preventing?
- masterofshadows, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5If you read the article the author doesn't blame the laws or say that the laws are wrong, what it says is we don't rehabilitate our prisoners so we get high rates of recidivism (repeat offenders) and we have overly large prison terms.
- travis1982, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6nobody deserves to be killed. *****.
- travis1982, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5It's actually fairly easy to correct. Change your legislation. Stop the war on drugs, implement better rehabilitation programs, imprison violent offenders with a high risk of recidivism etc. It's actually that easy. It's not that the American citizens are all that more violent than other countries, non taking into account everyone owning a gun, it's the laws that exist right now that are making the prison populations so high. Canada and the US and virtually the same crime trends on a timescale, yet Canada has much lower crime rates because we have a different legislation, such as not imprisoning people for smoking/selling weed, or petty crimes.
- Visarga, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6The govt doesn't represent your interests. It represents the lobby interests - to siphon money from the state to private prisons.
- Archer007, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4You're mixing the debate about morals with drugs.
- AlexClewes, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4for you and meeeee.
- Aggaman, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5That's not going to happen. Americans seem addicted to punishing people. It's an extremely conservative country. Anyone who doesn't like it should really move to Canada, since nothing will be done about it (except building more prisons). Canada has better donuts anyway, so it's not all bad.
- pe5t1lence, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4Prisoners: Gotta catch 'em all!
- inactive, on 07/23/2008, -10/+14I want to move to Canada after college. Who's with me?
- PepeGSay, on 07/23/2008, -6/+11I know how we can stop it! "Stop breaking the law *****!" - Jim Carry, Liar Liar
- inactive, on 07/23/2008, -2/+6Well we could make it easier.
1st degree, planned out murder and torture - while in the USA gets you death or life in prison.
In New Zealand, you can be out in 11-14 years.
Isnt that special!??
How about this? Why not just make smokin weed a ticketable offense and stop filling our jails for stupid reasons, its costing us money and for nonsense crimes. - WoollyMittens, on 07/23/2008, -2/+6Don't be an racist *****. There's more western countries than the USA.
- Fastbullit, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4Right?
- apetrie, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3lamiaconfitor: Some people will always be beyond hope, those people are not an excuse to abandon everyone though. If you even can only rehabilitate one in four or even less, its worth it.
Lets not even get into how ridiculous it is to think that pot users should be in jail or need "help" to begin with. - inactive, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3Welcome to America. Land of the enslaved, and home of the Ass bleeder.
- travis1982, on 07/23/2008, -3/+6Seriously, that is just racist. Ever heard of sentencing disparity? It's a proven fact that judges/juries/police convict blacks for the exact same crimes that white people get to walk away from. Blacks also have a much harsher stigma that follows them for life after being in the penal system.
- sodade, on 07/23/2008, -1/+4Dream on ponyboy.
There is no honor in this drug war you douchebag. - SouthernGuy118, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3there is a difference between laws being tough and laws being absurd.
If a drug conviction carries mandatory rehab and community service, it's tough.
If a drug conviction carries a mandatory 20 year prison sentence, it's absurd.
Yes, our laws should be based on how full our prisons are. If you have a huge segment of the population in prison, chances are your laws are insane. -
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