kraftdinner
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posted on March 18, 2001 10:48:32 PM new
It seems the prison population keeps increasing and increasing to the point where they have to expand or build new prisons.
What do you think would be a better alternative than just warehousing criminals?
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Borillar
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posted on March 18, 2001 11:06:15 PM new
Create programs to try to address the root causes of crime; allow equal access to the court system and free help to fill out the proper forms and so forth so that everybody can have a judge settle a dispute long before it becomes violent; feed the hungry who have no money to buy food so that they don't have to steal to survive, house the homeless for the same reason; and give him your cloak as well as your hat (a suggestion made by someone quite famous in history); give free education while they're on that full-belly and in that warm, clean environment so that they can learn to survive without committing crime; level the playing field so that anyone who wants to try hard enough can make it; give them medical care when they are sick and the medicine that they need to keep going. Am I boring you?
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mouseslayer
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posted on March 18, 2001 11:14:44 PM new
By all means Borillar, go on! So far you have some wonderful ideas. 
~^~  Hippy wannabe  ~^~
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 05:09:24 AM new
Borillar
You took the words
right out of my mouth!
And boring is a way you will never be.
Great Answer!!!
Helen
[ edited by HJW on Mar 19, 2001 05:13 AM ]
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mivona
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posted on March 19, 2001 05:15:21 AM new
Make sure you are jailing those that are seriously criminal, not mentally-ill, not mentally-handicapped, not guilty of minor offences (e.g. possession of cannabis).
Make sure that those jailed are given equal justice, not jailed because they committed a crime that someone white would have been cautioned for, or probationed for, or public serviced for... And if they ARE to be jailed, make sure they receive an equivalent sentence to others.
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 05:37:54 AM new
Right, Minova
More than a third of all crime in America is drug related yet there is no rehab that is easily available for poor people.
There are some states that sentence drug addicted first
offenders to rehab. That is a step in the
right direction.
Helen
[ edited by HJW on Mar 19, 2001 06:25 AM ]
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krs
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posted on March 19, 2001 06:52:04 AM new
Just shoot 'em. Save a lot of time and money.
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gravid
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posted on March 19, 2001 06:57:09 AM new
Yank Yank rattle rattle
Chinese style - charge 'em for the bullet
Right?
[ edited by gravid on Mar 19, 2001 06:58 AM ]
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 06:58:43 AM new
My husband wants to do that to all Republicans...Line them up and shoot them!!!
I hear that every day.
We do get rid of a few alledged criminals
by lethal injection.
Helen
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mivona
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:02:43 AM new
I just knew that one was coming...
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Pocono
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:09:14 AM new
Make sure that those jailed are given equal justice, not jailed because they committed a crime that someone white would have been cautioned for, or probationed for, or public serviced for
oh brother....
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:09:18 AM new
And, Krs, I know what you are thinking...
that he would like to include me in the
line up.
could be....but not because I'm a Republican.
Helen
[ edited by HJW on Mar 19, 2001 07:14 AM ]
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:11:35 AM new
Minova,
which one?
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mivona
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:12:37 AM new
Come on, Pocono...
I am not saying that ALL non-white criminals get a bum deal, but I AM saying that sometimes they do.
Justice is not colour-blind - that's been known for a long, long time.
I also don't say it will always be that way, but that is the way it is now.
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gravid
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:16:50 AM new
I'm all in favor of execution as long as the people who order it and do it are SO sure that they will agree to suffer the same fate if they make a mistake.
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Pocono
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:22:24 AM new
Mivona:
I think the problem lies more in that a greater percentage of whites retain private attorneys, whereas ethnics more often utilize overworked, and understaffed public defenders.
I am not meaning to sterotype here by any means, but simply voicing my opinion on how I see it from here in my part of the country.
OJ and Puffy walked with the right representation, and they were as guilty as Lizzie Borden!
I brought my wife to visit a relative at a Federal Prison recently, and about 80% (or MORE) of the prisoners in the visiting room were white also.
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:22:32 AM new
Justice is determined by how much money
is available
The poor and black population have very
little so they are more likely to die in jail.
Helen
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:27:13 AM new
Decriminalizing many drug laws might be a good place to start.
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gravid
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:27:55 AM new
Poor and black also have a hard time getting time and spending the money to travel to the prison and visit.
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:29:45 AM new
As for Puffy - about half the witnesses said he had a gun, and half said he didn't. I'm not saying the skills of Ben Brafman didn't do it for him, but given the testimony it's not hard to believe that the jurors found "reasonable doubt".
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:31:21 AM new
The case of the Ramseys for example. They were able to hire top notch
attorneys...investigators...publicity agents.
They could decide wheather or not they wanted to be interviewed by
police and even what questions they could be asked.
How do you think a poor family would be treated under similar circumstances?
Helen
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mivona
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:32:37 AM new
Yes, it is probably true that white defendants more frequently choose private attorneys. But that disparity in choice is an obvious disadvantage in obtaining justice, or equitable justice.
And although some people walk free who you are sure are guilty, that is much more likely to be due to money/class than the colour of their skin.
It is just that those with money, with the choice to secure skilled legal advice, tend to be white.
Which takes me back to the inequity of justice (generally) due to race.
And just in case anyone gets het up about it... it is the same in the UK.
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:33:16 AM new
James
"Decriminalizing many drug laws might be a good place to start."
Absolutely!!!
Helen
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:38:08 AM new
Minova,
Inequity of Justice is due to MONEY.
Helen
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:40:24 AM new
"Decriminalizing many drug laws might be a good place to start."
A lot of people in the "War on Drugs" industry would probably be unhappy to be out of a job.
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krs
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:41:44 AM new
"Decriminalizing many drug laws might be a good place to start."
You would say that, James. 
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:41:45 AM new
Minova
Money is the root cause.
It may "appear" that the problem is racist
but in fact it is money.
Helen
[ edited by HJW on Mar 19, 2001 07:46 AM ]
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mivona
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:44:11 AM new
HJW,
I agree to a large extent, but do not discount the effect of race on equitable justice.
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HJW
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posted on March 19, 2001 07:49:17 AM new
mrpotatoheadd
Right! It's an industry.
Helen
[ edited by HJW on Mar 19, 2001 07:50 AM ]
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on March 19, 2001 08:00:50 AM new
HJW-
At 40 billion dollars a year, it most certainly is.
The U.S. federal government will spend over 19.2 billion dollars at a rate of about $609 per second on the War on Drugs this year.
Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy
State and local governments will spend at least another 20 billion.
Source: Drucker, Dr. Ernest, (1998, Jan./Feb.). Public Health Reports,, "Drug Prohibition and Public Health." U.S. Public Health Service. Vol. 114.
Drug War Clock:
http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
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