The prison population of the U.S. exploded for a number of reasons. One was a Reagan era pushback against the justice reforms of the 60's and 70's. Another was the boom in private prisons and the investment of numerous entities in keeping them in business. Yet another was the failing school systems and de-industrialization of urban areas. The evaporation of the job base slowly devastated many cities. The most significant reasons were the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, which criminalized minor drug activity and the three strikes laws, which essentially sent thousands to prison for decade for minor offenses. On top of all this, prison seems to cripple many people, and beside stigmatizing them, forcing them out of the job market and into the underground economy.
To a degree I do not understand, the relatively low levels of crime that we have right now (on average) seem to related to our huge prison population. A lot of bad actors get swept up. But the price is gigantic, both fiscally and psychologically. There are too many children who do not have contact with parents because of prison sentences. There are too many men and women who are repeatedly traumatized in prison. And there are far too many young people in the prison system being hardened up and then turned out into the street with no other skills but raw survival.
Finally, change. Thirty years or so later, New York State is repealing the Rockefeller laws:
Under the plan, judges would have the authority to send first-time nonviolent offenders in all but the most serious drug offenses — known as A-level drug felonies — to treatment. As a condition of being sent to treatment, offenders would have to plead guilty. If they did not successfully complete treatment, their case would go back before a judge, who would again have the option of imposing a prison sentence.
Currently, judges are bound by a sentencing structure that requires minimum sentences of one year for possessing small amounts of cocaine or heroin, for example. Under the agreement reached by the governor and lawmakers, a judge could order treatment for those offenders.
More significantly, the former marine and all-round tough guy Senator Jim Webb has introduced prison reform as a key part of the legislative push for the next year:
Senator Webb's interest in reforming the U.S. criminal justice system stems from his days as a Marine Corps officer, sitting on courts-martial, and "thinking about the interrelationship between discipline and fairness." Later, as an attorney, he spent six years in pro bono representation of a young African American Marine accused of war crimes in Vietnam, eventually clearing the man's name three years after he took his own life.
Twenty-five years ago, while working on special assignment for Parade Magazine, Webb was the first American journalist allowed inside the Japanese prison system, where he "became aware of the systemic dysfunctions of the U.S. system." Japan, with half of the United States' population at that time, had only 40,000 sentenced prisoners in jail compared to the U.S.'s 580,000; today, the U.S. has 2.38 million prisoners and another five million involved in the process, either due to probation or parole situations.
"We are not protecting our citizens from the increasing danger of criminals who perpetrate violence and intimidation as a way of life, and we are locking up too many people who do not belong in jail," concluded Webb. "I believe that American ingenuity can discover better ways to deal with the problems of drugs and nonviolent criminal behavior while still minimizing violent crime and large-scale gang activity.
"We all deserve to live in a country made better by such changes," said Webb.
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