During the last quarter century or so, the criminal justice system has been plagued by the issue of prison overcrowding. This issue is greatly correlated with the “tough on crime” policies that legislature has established in recent years. Because of these policies, more men and women are being sent to prisons which ultimately end up costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year. Many feel that these tough on crime policies such as mandatory minimum sentencing laws and certain drug laws should be altered in more ways than one.
Because our criminal justice system has established laws such as that of determinate sentencing, many men and women are sent to prison with a minimum amount of years to serve, sometimes for crimes that aren’t very serious. For example, when the crack-powder cocaine law was created, thousands of African American men and women were sent to prison for a fixed amount of years due to the mandatory sentencing laws for possession of crack cocaine. Much like anything else, the war on drugs has been the basis for many tough on crime advocates.
Incidentally, many of these get tough on crime schemes that legislature has established during the last twenty-five years affects our correctional systems throughout the United States. With almost double the capacity in just about every correctional facility in California alone, many men and women are forced to relinquish the limited amount of freedom that they possess while incarcerated.
If our legislature doesn’t figure out a way to modify our current sentencing policies and formulate better ways of accommodating those who are currently incarcerated, our criminal justice system will continue to be plagued with this enormous financial issue. I feel we need to assemble more effective re-entry programs and put more money into rehabilitation programs rather than to our correctional systems.
No comments:
Post a Comment