1 in 100 US adults now in prison

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: Sweet Katie Absolutely disagree. The solution to reducing criminal acts isn't making less acts criminal. Also, while I agree that economic independence may reduce certain criminal acts, employment doesn't guarantee social responsibility or a higher moral integrity. Specific examples: I am employed by a relatively small company (approximately 400 people). In the past month, there have been two serious criminal incidents. One employee was shot/killed by the local police. The other employee shot another person in a round-the-way, neighborhood scuffle. Interestingly enough, the brother of the person shot in the second example also works at the same company. Furthermore, the argument has been made through studies that sociopathic tendencies are a shared characteristic among leaders. Given the skills required to succeed in the aggressive, competitive business world and my own experiences, I agree with studies. White collar crime is common and frequently companies deal with it internally.

The reason to decriminalize some acts is that criminalizing them causes more harm than good. If it's illegal, we can't regulate it to minimize the harm. And just because something is illegal doesn't mean the person who did it deserves to be behind bars, which is what minumum sentencing laws guarantee. We're taking regular people who aren't harming anyone other than themselves and lumping them into the same pile as murderers. This is dumb.

Economic independence reduces desperation, which is the fuel for violent crimes.

TC

[ironeagle]

WEll I guess we will just have to base all our laws on wether a person has the ability to be sued or not. Who cares, the country is too sue happy, accidents happen get over it. It makes no difference it's still a violation of the law and government intrusion.

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: ironeagle WEll I guess we will just have to base all our laws on wether a person has the ability to be sued or not. Who cares, the country is too sue happy, accidents happen get over it. It makes no difference it's still a violation of the law and government intrusion.

"Accidents" happen, which is why we hold people accountable by suing them.

TC

[ItsADirtyRag]

I must say, I'm lovin' ThoughtCriminal on this, thanks for your insight.

If we say that prison is a branch of capitalist enterprise, having a profit motive, there must be a way for the prisons to profit. A prison (like those owned by wakenhut corparation) will calculate what it costs to house an individual prisioner, and prove to the state that they can do it for less $ than the state. The state gives the private prison a contract, and the private prison will house inmates for less $ than estimated, making a profit.

For any Capitalist enterprise to flourish, it needs to be ensured of a growing "customer base", and the 3 strikes and mandatory minimum requirements fulfill this need. Also, the prison needs to generate a profit for the capitalist (this is done by using prison labor to build prison furniture, instead of buying it, like the jail in Attica, NY).

The Per-bed profits (claiming 100 dollars a day is needed to house a prisoner when 78 is actually used) also make income for the jail. Mumia Abu Jamal has said that 23 percent of the world's prison population lived in America, 23 percent. Why is that? Its a mixture of too many illegal acts and excessive poverty.

[GHook93]

The problem? Putting people away for non-violent drug offenses! End the war on drugs and prostitution and only put people away if they commit violent, theft, arson, assault and battery, fraud etc.

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: ItsADirtyRag I must say, I'm lovin' ThoughtCriminal on this, thanks for your insight. If we say that prison is a branch of capitalist enterprise, having a profit motive, there must be a way for the prisons to profit. A prison (like those owned by wakenhut corparation) will calculate what it costs to house an individual prisioner, and prove to the state that they can do it for less $ than the state. The state gives the private prison a contract, and the private prison will house inmates for less $ than estimated, making a profit. For any Capitalist enterprise to flourish, it needs to be ensured of a growing "customer base", and the 3 strikes and mandatory minimum requirements fulfill this need. Also, the prison needs to generate a profit for the capitalist (this is done by using prison labor to build prison furniture, instead of buying it, like the jail in Attica, NY). The Per-bed profits (claiming 100 dollars a day is needed to house a prisoner when 78 is actually used) also make income for the jail. Mumia Abu Jamal has said that 23 percent of the world's prison population lived in America, 23 percent. Why is that? Its a mixture of too many illegal acts and excessive poverty.

The deeper issue is that we're not clear on whether the purpose of prisons is to segregate, punish, or rehabilitate, so they do all three poorly. If anything, prisons are a great way for a regular person to gain the contacts and skills necessary for life as a career criminal. And they'll need those, because they're not going to be able to get good jobs with a criminal record.

As you suggest, the one thing prisons do reliably is bring in money, at least for the people running those prisons. In some areas, the warden is paid directly for the costs of such things as food, and then gets to keep whatever he doesn't spend. The amount of waste, abuse and neglect is phenomenal.

Let's also add the political factor of disenfranchisement. Blacks are overrepresented int he prison population, due to a combination of disproportionate poverty and bias within the judicial system. Even after they've served their time, convicted felons lose the right to vote, so this leads to blacks losing a key part of the citizenship. In a time when elections seem to be decided by a handful of contested votes, it doesn't take a lot to shift the balance.

TC

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: GHook93 The problem? Putting people away for non-violent drug offenses! End the war on drugs and prostitution and only put people away if they commit violent, theft, arson, assault and battery, fraud etc.

I have to agree. Not that I like drugs, or that I would want them to be entirely unregulated, but criminalization just isn't working.

TC

[grandpa]

Quote by: ThoughtCriminal I have to agree. Not that I like drugs, or that I would want them to be entirely unregulated, but criminalization just isn't working.

The government has carried on in the old orthodoxy -- throw people in prison rather than solve problems through reason.

Grandpa h.