Thread: On the American Incarceration Problem

What i would like to see is the percentage of increase in debtors prison stats. I cant disagree that the numbers are out of control due to the hammer being dropped by judges. I do however think there is a substantial number in jail due to jails being privatized. We are finally starting catch judges taking kickbacks for sentencing.

Im also not a big fan of a 3 strike rule as its being applied. Stealing your 3rd candy bar should not place you in prison for life. The punishment doesn't fit the crime but on the other hand if you've been caught stealing something substantial i have no issue with it. I would like to believe thats what its intention was but like many other things its been manipulated to fit everything.

As for drugs well we've gotten out of hand. As laws currently stand (which i do not have a problem with) if you get busted with a roach you are most likely going to jail. Its a fairly simple concept for people to grasp but they chose to ignore it. I guess because getting high is worth the risk to them. That being said the sentences being handed out are not justice. Getting caught with a joint should not equal a year in prison. A week maybe or even a month but not whats being handing out.

I also think debtors prison should never have been brought back. That goes for tax debt, child support, and alimony. As long as an effort is being made to try and pay putting someone in jail helps no one. That effort could be partial payments or as current times being as they are a person simply trying to find a job. We're using blankets to cover entire topics when its the details that matter but courts act like they dont.