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I agree with everyone who has said end mandatory minimums. They are pointless and often rook others into the crime even though they were not party to the drug use or trafficking. There was an example of a wife in California some years ago who had no clue her husband was selling drugs--because of the ways our laws are structured regarding drug-related crimes, she too ended up in prison, and because of mandatory minimums, she will be there for a long time to come.
I agree that there should be two groups of criminals: those who have committed offenses that they might be rehabilitated for (non-violent offenders) and those who are past reform (including violent offenders). I believe the first group should have access to those things that will help them better their lives and contribute upon their return to society--counseling, libraries, etc. But I think they should have to contribute at least half of their day to labor to earn those things. The second group should be doing hard time--labor, few comforts, etc. If a prisoner can prove themselves worthy of rehabilitation during this stage, and they are judged not to be a danger to society, they should be moved down a tier and into rehabilitation. As for repeat offenders, they should be placed in hard time AFTER having been through rehabilitation once. No three strikes--I had a friend in high school whose father (who she rarely spoke to) would actually COMMIT crimes to get into jail/get sent to prison so he would be warm and have a hot meal. For those kinds of repeat offenders, prison should not be a friendly place.
One issue I haven't seen in this thread is the issue of the mentally ill. So many states in the US have done away with state-run mental hospitals and rely entirely on a privatized system to keep the mentally ill safe and secure. However, in some cases, that system fails, and the the mentally ill end up on the street where they do commit crimes. Prison is not where the mentally ill belong. They belong in a secure facility where they can receive appropriate medical care. Regardless of economic background, all mentally ill deserve that chance--otherwise we're just as badly off in our treatment of them as we were 100 years ago.
I don't agree with the death penalty--there are too many cases of it being overturned recently for it to sit easily with me. However, euthanasia should be an option for those prisoners who know they're going to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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