Jails and prisons are full of non-violent drug offenders that are treated the same as criminals which does NOTHING to solve the problem, it creates MORE of a problem by CREATING HARD CRIMINALS.
They said that three types of these inmates should be evaluated and treated rather than thrown into the system where, depending on their "class", size, and personality - will end up being the ones most abused in jail. The three types are:
- ADHD
- Bi-polar
- Learning disability
These are the types that USUALLY go in because of mistakes/drugs and come out as hardened criminals.
Even if we don't care about the "criminals" we should be concerned about helping rehabilitation to keep ourselves safe because when they get our they are more likely to commit violent crimes.
It costs $30,000 A YEAR TO HOUSE ONE PRISONER! Why can't we use some of that money to REHABILITATE drug addicts???
78,000 people were arrested and prosecuted for marijuana in CA alone last year! Why are we focusing on that when thereare child molesters and rapists running around?
Addiction does not go away with incarceration.
They are saying all this starts in the home - that's not true, if that were true most of us would not have kids on drugs/in jail because we did our best....and those of you with more than one child, wouldn't ALL your kids be in jail if it were your lack of parenting skills or concern that influenced their drug addiction????
For every 100 Americans there is one person in prison. WHAT?
There are more people in the US prison system than any other country even though many countries have a much larger population.
We are so focused on crime and punishment we have dropped the ball of prevention. I AGREE!
There is no rehabilitation offered in most jails/prisons.
When young people (like my son) are prosecuted and found guilty for drug charges, they are at a huge disadvantage for getting a good job because they already have a felony on their record. Yes CELEBRITIES can get away with MURDER.
Ok. I am going to settle down now. Yes, our justice system is messed up. It has a lot to do with MONEY. If you have money you hire an attorney and get off for the same crimes that send our kids to jail for minor drug offenses due to the disease of ADDICTION. It just makes me so mad that we (the US) recongnizes addiction as a disease but treats addicts like criminals (unless you have money).
Oh, one last thing...speaking of money:
It also costs the family of the person in jail. Yes, I put money on my son's books so he can buy things like: soap, stamps, paper, envelopes, shampoo, a pillow, Top Ramen (his main food staple because they don't feed him enough). Yes, I also pay about $50 a month or more on receiving phone calls from him because I WANT to talk to him.
Some prisoners don't have ANY of these things and they are treated poorly - can you imagine being in jail with no soap or shampoo or not able to write a letter? I think that's a bit extreme. But not all families can afford to keep money on their loved one's books all the time.
How come a young man born in a poor area can be put in jail for years for domestic violence but Chris Brown got community service? MONEY.
How come when Lindsay Lohan got arrested for DUI and had more drugs on her than my son had on him when he was arrested (and he was not DUI) she got 84 MINUTES in jail and my son is on day 67?
Ok, I really am off my soapbox now...
1 comment:
You are absolutely right. I don't even know someone in jail to have these view points. I actually started school in criminal justice wanting to work to help people and found it too morally challenging. This was before I was an addict and my opinions have just intensified since going through the system and becoming "criminalized" for being an addict.
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