Senator Jim Webb's Parade Article

[Keino]

So with my Morning Java I was reading the paper and came across the Sunday Parade magazine which features an article written by Senator Webb with some rather shocking (well not shocking to me since I have been making similar arguments for 4 years in this forum) statistics with regard to our prison/justice system, its costs and who serves prison time. It was refreshing from my point of view, to see a lawmaker confront the issues with honesty and a desire to make real changes to our justice system that make sense.

Here is a link to the online version of the same article Link Here (http://www.parade.com/news/2009/03/why-we-must-fix-our-prisons.html)

Snip:

Drug offenders, most of them passive users or minor dealers, are swamping our prisons. According to data supplied to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, those imprisoned for drug offenses rose from 10% of the inmate population to approximately 33% between 1984 and 2002. Experts estimate that this increase accounts for about half of the dramatic escalation in the total number imprisoned over that period. Yet locking up more of these offenders has done nothing to break up the power of the multibillion-dollar illegal drug trade. Nor has it brought about a reduction in the amounts of the more dangerous drugs--such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines--that are reaching our citizens.

Justice statistics also show that 47.5% of all the drug arrests in our country in 2007 were for marijuana offenses. Additionally, nearly 60% of the people in state prisons serving time for a drug offense had no history of violence or of any significant selling activity. Indeed, four out of five drug arrests were for possession of illegal substances, while only one out of five was for sales. Three-quarters of the drug offenders in our state prisons were there for nonviolent or purely drug offenses. And although experts have found little statistical difference among racial groups regarding actual drug use, African-Americans--who make up about 12% of the total U.S. population--accounted for 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of all drug offenders sentenced to prison.

It's a very good article and Senator Webb appears to have some very noble intentions. My question is: Can the system be fixed, or is it broken beyond repair? Can we make a more efficient alternative given our current economic crisis, or are we doomed to continue to throw good money after bad when it comes to our justice system, specifically with respect to our nation's drug laws, diagnoses of the mentally ill and incarceration related thereto?

Please read the Article, the snippet I give only touches on issues I have been passionate about in this forum and in general. The article actually is a more comprehensive overview of our inefficient and ineffective prison system.

[RedskinsDave]

There is a huge problem and it needs to be fixed. That said, that article is all over the place and has things that don't tie together. He mentions all the drug arrests but doesn't tie them to convictions. That made me think he was just throwing big numbers out for effect.

[PHWbc]

Can the system be fixed, or is it broken beyond repair? Can we make a more efficient alternative given our current economic crisis, or are we doomed to continue to throw good money after bad when it comes to our justice system, specifically with respect to our nation's drug laws, diagnoses of the mentally ill and incarceration related thereto?


I think that the system can be fixed through changing the sentencing guidelines. New York just repealed the Rockefeller Drug Laws. I think the sentencing commission for the federal courts is considering changing statutes to give judges more discretion in the non-violent drug/first event scenario giving them the option to go to rehab instead of jail (which I believe is cheaper).

In my opinion, the economic crisis might actually help the justice system, because state legislatures are having to cut funding to cover their billion dollar deficits. It might push through cheaper, alternative sentencing faster. But, I am left with the question of proper implementation.

An interesting thing (that probably won't happen federally) is to punish individuals civilly, in the form of a fine, for possession of less than a ounce or two of marijuana (like Massachusetts has currently). It puts money back in the pockets of the government by collecting the fine and by not having the individual in prison.

As far as the mentally ill, that's a hard issue. I think a state may take measures to restrict freedom of the dangerously mentally ill, which is a legitimate, nonpunitive governmental objective (safety of other individuals). But would I rather throw them into the "whack shack" prison population or a mental institution... I don't really know, because the prison system took over for the mental institutions when they were shut down. So, do we we re-build the mental health facilities or try for better treatment in the prison system? I favor the latter, because I think it is more cost effective.

I know I didn't really take any hard opinions, just my two cents.

[firehawk157]

Perhaps the creation of a separate "drug-offense" rehabiliation system. Truthfully, Johnny Potsmoker doesn't deserve to be lumped in with rapists, murders and thieves and it does nothing to help Mr. Potsmoker kick the habit (regardless of your views on legalization). The average drug-user (I'm not advocating the same for dealers or anybody with prior offenses) isn't about to put together an escape plan or join a gang, so a minimum security prison focused on ACTUAL rehabiliation (as opposed to punishment) would do worlds of good.