Showing posts with label Prison Reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prison Reform. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Criminal Justice Reform
Jim Webb is trying to tackle our decidedly broken criminal justice system, by establishing a National Criminal Justice Commission to study the problem. Glenn Greenwald points out the political risks associated with such a position.
Here are some disturbing facts offered by Webb:
-- The US has 5% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners. "There are only two possibilities here: either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice."
--Number of incarcerated drug offenders in 1980: 41,000
--Number of incarcerated drug offenders in 2007: 500,000
--Percentage increase: 1200%
--Blacks = ~12% of population
--Blacks use drugs (frequent use) at comparable rates compared to other groups: 14%
--Blacks = 37% of those arrested on drug charges
--Blacks = 59% of those convicted on drug charges
--Blacks = 74% of those sentenced to prison on drug charges
(Thanks Left in Alabama)
Here are some disturbing facts offered by Webb:
-- The US has 5% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners. "There are only two possibilities here: either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice."
--Number of incarcerated drug offenders in 1980: 41,000
--Number of incarcerated drug offenders in 2007: 500,000
--Percentage increase: 1200%
--Blacks = ~12% of population
--Blacks use drugs (frequent use) at comparable rates compared to other groups: 14%
--Blacks = 37% of those arrested on drug charges
--Blacks = 59% of those convicted on drug charges
--Blacks = 74% of those sentenced to prison on drug charges
(Thanks Left in Alabama)
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