I trust all enjoyed the warm weekend. I prefer COLD in February, but I appreciate the change, so long as it doesn't last too long. Why not post some good news to start the day:
The New York Legislature finally seems poised to overturn the infamous Rockefeller drug laws. The impending change comes too late for the tens of thousands of low-level, nonviolent drug offenders who wasted away in prison because of mandatory sentencing policies when they should have been given treatment and leniency. But after years of building support for reform, legislative leaders now have it within their power to make wholesale changes in this profoundly destructive law.
These laws are likely the most destructive package of legislation in modern history. The impact on families, children, and neigborhoods through the country is almost impossible to measure.
"Three-strikes" laws (regardless of the class of crime), mandatory minimums, draconian visitation rules, and the insuperable economic hobbling that being a felon imposes on an individuals, make rehabilitation not only more difficult, but create huge barriers to reconciling with families and communities.
Ironically, by making such reconciliation impossible, the Rockefeller Laws probably reinforced the drug trade in all kinds of ways.
Our good governor, Ed Rendell, still continues a policy oriented towards punishment instead of rehabilitation, and of course the PA legislature has a long way to go before it will seriously consider reform.
Prison outreach is a big part of any comprehension vision of social justice. We've begun doing our small part by sending books and reading materials to prisoners who request it. Please contact us in you are interested in making donations of time, money, or books.
The New York Legislature finally seems poised to overturn the infamous Rockefeller drug laws. The impending change comes too late for the tens of thousands of low-level, nonviolent drug offenders who wasted away in prison because of mandatory sentencing policies when they should have been given treatment and leniency. But after years of building support for reform, legislative leaders now have it within their power to make wholesale changes in this profoundly destructive law.
These laws are likely the most destructive package of legislation in modern history. The impact on families, children, and neigborhoods through the country is almost impossible to measure.
"Three-strikes" laws (regardless of the class of crime), mandatory minimums, draconian visitation rules, and the insuperable economic hobbling that being a felon imposes on an individuals, make rehabilitation not only more difficult, but create huge barriers to reconciling with families and communities.
Ironically, by making such reconciliation impossible, the Rockefeller Laws probably reinforced the drug trade in all kinds of ways.
Our good governor, Ed Rendell, still continues a policy oriented towards punishment instead of rehabilitation, and of course the PA legislature has a long way to go before it will seriously consider reform.
Prison outreach is a big part of any comprehension vision of social justice. We've begun doing our small part by sending books and reading materials to prisoners who request it. Please contact us in you are interested in making donations of time, money, or books.
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