Our Real Prison Problem

There are powerful lobbies and unions who will oppose these self-evident improvements relentlessly. Interest groups have reaped huge profits from throwing out the words "public safety" every time they are are questioned. I know it is common to say this or that group has reaped "huge profits", but in this case it is true. This occurs everywhere: city and state police, the judicial systems, the prison guards, the people who have contracts to build and service all the prisons. They will not make cutting off this largess easy because it has become an entitlement.

Thank God, Webb is bringing this issue to the forefront! It is time that we as a society moved away from the knee-jerk - lock them all up and throw away the key attitudes ushered in by the fundie right wingers who practice the Old Testament "eye for an eye" type of social "justice" brought in by Ronald Reagan.and his minions. The only way to truly serve justice is to use the model Christ taught and do all that we can to help the downtrodden and that includes the non-violent uneducated, mentally ill drug addicted and poor who generally receive far harsher sentences than they deserve for the nature of their crimes. Yes, crime is wrong but it more wrong to continue to incarcerate for years those who can be rehabilitated and can serve better society by learning trades and social skills and caring for their families where children are often devastated and only continue the downward spiral of self-loathing and criminal activity when parents are given longer prison terms rather than taught to properly care for them so they can grow in stable families. Making a mistake often means YEARS of being unable to get decent jobs with which to support themselves and their families even after they have served the time required for crimes they have committed. Why should we expect them NOT to go back to a life of crime where they may or may not get caught when we deny them the self-respect that comes with a job with which to support themselves and their families once they are out?

1- Stop locking non-violent criminals up with violent criminals
2 - Stop letting known violent criminals out of jail as rehabilitaation is a joke
3- No early parol for violent offenders without choosing to be sterylized, as violent parents often breed violent children or at least make me pay for their care with my tax dollars

This article is so true. The real issue is that we are feeding, clothing, providing medical care for, and housing, at great expense, huge numbers of nonviolent individuals. Our entire legal system needs to be in agreement that what we want is protection from dangerous individuals, not wholesale incarceration of our fathers, brohters, sons, friends, neighbors. The legislature, the courts and the prison boards also need to cooperate with the society and each other to use APPROPRIATE sentencing. This is especially true of the boards who issue virtually blanket denials of parole to those proven to be absolutely not a threat to society. Ms. Lithwick is correct, Gitmo is the very least of our troubles on this issue.

NO ONE WANTS TO look soft on crime but can we aford to be this tuff your next story should be about the cost I talked to a congressmen he said the numbers were way off they do not include health care and pentions when the public see the numbers they will start to care ( I saw a quote that said WE PUT PEPOLE IN JAIL BECAUSE WE DON'T LIKE THEM THEY GET OUT AND THEY HATE US) I have known pepole that that went to prison minor drug infractions they come out changed pepole

When 4,000 years ago the first law codes were established, the intent was bring law and order to the society. No longer was it left to the individual to exact retribution. Instead, society agreed that it would not only protect the individual, but *it* would exact retribution. A society that is unwilling to carry out its obligations of that social contract loses its legitimacy. Eventually, the responsibility for retribution will once again revert to the individual.

I think what the majority of the public must not realize is that the "terrorists" were held at Guantánamo, not because they were too dangerous to house anywhere in the US, but because IF the government housed them in the United States they would be entitled to a multitude of rights. Many basic rights, which the US government could deny them simply by keeping them out of the United States. Rights such as; the right to remain silent (not incriminate yourself), the right to be told why you are being detained (the charges), the right to certain evidentiary hearings (within a reasonable time frame), the right to have counsel present, right to be free of "cruel and unusual" punishment while in jail or prison, and many others.....

The prison system has two great things going for it -- current US criminal law, which is eccentric by the standards of all other comparable and more peaceful nations -- and the fact that prisons are sources of employment and votes. Some famous political careers have been founded on candidates' promises that they'll lock up all the bad guys, and build more jails to keep them in. The jails tend to be built in regions of high unemployment. Locking up too many bad guys? Build more jails. It's a simple economic program, but unemployment continues high.

One reason for the number of people turning to crime seems to be limited childhood educational opportunity. It would be interesting to compare salaries of new schoolteachers and prison guard. schoolteachers of course have passed through years of at least so-so education, Prison guards, often, are just guys who need a job.

Incarceration , resulting in a criminal record has become the new means to discriminate against blacks in America. It is simple and it appears benign. We know that blacks account for a far larger number of those with felony convictions than whites in our country so we make a policy, in most companies that -We do not hire convicted felons. A nice sterile method to effectuate racial exclusion. Who could accuse you of being racist?

I have a felony conviction. Several years ago I ran into a guy I was in prison with some 20 years ago. This guy happens to be white. We were talking and he suggested that I apply for a job at the car dealership he worked for as a salesman. I asked, what about my felony conviction? He looked at me and said-come on, I???m a felon, man. A week or so later I went to the dealership to make an application. My friend was sitting at his desk and listening as his boss explained to me that the company did not hire convicted felons. I looked over the mangers shoulder, at my friend and smiled. I would never have pointed to my friend and said Well hes a felon because he was in prison with me. My status-though it was the only time I had been arrested and it happened over 20 years ago was being used to exercise racial discrimination against me because of the color of my skin. My friend walked outside and apologized profusely and I explained to him that it was not his fault. He thanked me for not putting him on the spot and I left.

I must say I have to fight not to be inwardly happy that this same dealership is closing because of the economic downturn. I remain convinced that felony convictions are the new racism. Where I live we even have telemarketing companies denying employment because of a prior conviction. A telemarketing company! Give me a break!

You don't have to go into the prison to see the worst society has to offer. Everybody knows all you have to do is stop by the prison at shift change.

De-privatize the prisons. It's absolutely crucial. There should NEVER be a profit incentive in criminal justice.

Ms. Lithwick if you are going to discuss the prison problem, I find it odd that you make no mention of the increasing rate of privatization of prisons. For profit prisons means the incentive is to get more inmates and to keep those inmates longer. Here's a good article to check out if you are interested. http://www.correctionsproject.com/corrections/pris_priv.htmhttp://www.correctionsproject.com/corrections/pris_priv.htm

The jails in Colorado are bursting at the seams because that's exactly the way the Department of Corrections wants it. The revolving door that is the justice system is built in to ensure an ever-increasing supply of slave labor to help support their industry. And Colorado Taxpayers still pay $900 million a year to keep themselves "safe." A complete analogy of this perversion of tax dollars and wasted lives is available at http://www.examiner.com/x-9012-Denver-Criminal-Justice-Examiner

Prison/jail in the U.S., is a business, not a solution!

King Henry the Sixth, Part II "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (Act IV, Scene II).