| Response to "Latest Study on Prisons Full of Errors" |
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| Written by Brenda Shoop | |
| Friday, 30 November 2007 | |
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First Up.....My Response: America has 5% of the world's population, yet we also have 25% of the world's prison population. We incarcerate our own people more than any country in the world. How can we call ourselves a "superior society?" Not only do Big Pharma and The Oil Industry not want cannabis legalized, True Drug Dealers don't want it legalized either! Medicine will be free, biodiesel made from hemp will fuel our cars, and the Black Market will be put out of business. Why go to ShadyTown if you can grow it yourself? Then, we can stop incarcerating herbal healers who choose to avoid the criminal element and grow their own medicines. Cannabis is an herbal remedy, not an illicit drug, as many uninformed people still think. The hippies were RIGHT ALL ALONG! Swallow the Red Pill and research it for yourself! Rev Brenda Shoop, RN, BSN
Robertsdale, AL Original Article Latest study on prisons full of errors 11/28/2007 There is a recent privately funded study that is recommending some sweeping changes in the way we operate our prison system and we find some of the leanings in the study as moving toward dangerous ground. The report was produced by the JFA Institute, a Washington criminal-justice research group, and its authors included eight criminologists from major U.S. public universities. It was funded by the Rosenbaum Foundation and financier George Soros's Open Society Institute. As far as the study goes, we agree on the basis of fact. The number of Americans in prison has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to taxpayers and society. That is hard to dispute on any level. Where dispute arises, however, is in the approach we take in solving key issues pertaining to the fact. The study calls for a major justice-system overhaul. It is in error, however, on how to proceed in that direction. The truth is that prison reform is constantly under way. It is fact that our prisons of today are much different than they were 100 years ago. It also can be argued the changes that have occurred have produced both positive and negative results. That is why it is important to keep exploring methods to improve the system and the rehabilitive nature of the process. The report recommends shorter sentences and parole terms, alternative punishments, more help for released inmates and decriminalizing recreational drugs as steps that would cut the prison population in half, save $20 billion a year and ease social inequality without endangering the public. We certainly need to explore some of these avenues as we move forward, but falling into the trap of decriminalization of crimes is a wrong path to follow and this is a stance we have made before and will continue to do so. As a society, we must take a stand on certain issues and we will not prevail as a superior society if we lessen our attack on the use of illegal drugs or other crimes that "pose no harm to our society." Let's just take the use of illegal drugs as a starting point. How can such a learned study come to the conclusion that such crimes are not harmful to society? Every study we've seen shows massive negative effects on society at every turn in both costs and ultimate quality of life. Yes, we need to continue to seek ways to limit jail populations across the nation, but decriminalization of crimes is not a good starting point. Link to original article: |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 30 November 2007 ) |
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