Yesterday on the news was the story of Rob Blagojevich, the disgraced governor of Illinois who has been arrested for trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat. If he is convicted, he could serve as much as 50 years. It seems doubtful that he will serve that much, but why should we lock him up at all?!?
The regular knee-jerk reaction to anybody committing a crime is to "lock 'em up." That has become our definition of punishment. While going to prison is DEFINITELY punishment, it does not seem appropriate to all crimes. In addition, putting everyone in prison has caused the US to have the largest prison population in the world, with 700,000 more people in prison than China (a country with a population 4X greater than the US). According to the federal government, it costs approximately $22,650 per inmate per year. With a total prison population (in 2006) of 2,258,983, that gives us a total cost of approximately $51,165,964,950 PER YEAR!!! (That's over 51 BILLION DOLLARS!!!)
I'm not saying that we should let everyone roam free, but I do think there are a few changes we can make...
1) Mandatory Sentencing. The US Government Sentencing Commission recommends policies to congress on mandatory sentences for certain crimes. Most of these sentences are related to drug charges as part of the War on Drugs. These guidelines often tie judges hands in giving lighter sentences due to mitigating factors. I think it would make far more sense to allow judges to do their jobs and sentence criminal based on the facts of that individual case (using precedent as a guide) instead of blanket rules handed down from congress.
2) Drugs. This is closely related to mandatory sentencing. Why does it makes sense for a guy with a small amount of drugs (a user) to serve prison time? How does putting a whole bunch of druggies together help the situation? It seems that you're just getting drug dealers and users together to network. When they get out, they now have more, easier ways to get drugs. Why not make the punishment fines for very small amounts (recreational users), and counseling for heavier users?
3) White Collar Crimes. Getting back to Blagojevich. This is a guy who wanted to abuse his power for financial gain. It seems a better punishment for this crime would be to fine him and not allow him to hold public office or work in public service, either for a period of time or for life. Instead of this costing tax-payers thousands and thousands of dollars, the government would get money from him and he would lose what he most valued. We need to start looking at more creative punishments that better fit the crime.
All in all, the point I'm trying to make here is this: Let's find a way to punish people in a way that costs the government (and therefore the taxpayer) less money and punishes people in more appropriate ways.
2 comments:
I like the way you think.
Another feature which the Gods offer as a clue is very foreboading and ominous. Mt. Zion is a mountain to the north of Diablo (the eye of The Beast) and one which has a working quarry at its base. Consistant with the decay we experience in society, Mt. Zion is being eaten away, slowly stripped of its resources, until one day paradise will be gone forever.
So many people don't care about global warming. They disregard the need for conservation and instead drive SUVs. They don't care about the Federal deficit/debt (outside of partisanship) and they don't care earning $400k for an $80,000/year job will eventually bankrupt the country. They have awarded themselves $400k pay and retirement packages, loading up their friends on the payroll during the boom 90s through the real estate bust while all services which the program were intended to fund now get cut to pay for it.
These people are often common public university labor. Not Ivy League, not private university.
This labor isn't good enough to command the salaries they are earning. And they understood this when they applied to the public university they settled on.
You can't expect a top-tier salary with a second-rate education.
They think they are going sometime during/at the end of this life, and disregard the poor souls who are left behind.
Sounds like the Italians who were used to plan World War II and the Holocaust, and not by accident.
These are the people who will be here in the United States when bankruptcy is declared and society deteriorates into chaos. And they will deserve the anarchy which ensues.
Continuing the push for privatization, reinforced and supported recently with enormous public sector salaries and retirement packages.
Once achieved the gods will utilize the corruptive predisposition of the private sector economy, as seen with the sub-prime/bailout fiasco, to initiate economic catastrophy and initiate the bankruptcy proceedings of the United States.
Whether the cure for cancer/diseases or the permanant resolution of economic misery, before the gods remove these motivations to pray we will experience an inordinate deluge of each element, with economic misery being perhaps the dissallusion of the united States with bankruptcy.
The gods used the Italians to ruin life in the 20th century.
The gods used the Italians to ruin life in A.D. with The Church.
The Church controlled Western Civilization. As the largest land owner in Europe they controlled the monarchies. They were responsbile for slavery, revenge for African invasion and rape of Italy. They created religious discontent, ultimately leading to the disfavored dumping ground known as the United States.
And each generation of these Italians were sold on "earning", only to be reincarnated as a lesser life form subsequently, punishment for their evil.
"The West Bank, where the end of the world will begin." With xtianity.
The gods are the commensurate rapist pathology, focussed on control. Be it animal migratory patterns, growth rates for plants and trees or human behavior::::The gods feel compelled to control these phenominah, whether it meets their strategy or not.
It is appropriate they picked the Italians for the downfall of man. The perception offered is exactly how the gods are. Unfortunate for the Italians, they were deliberately altered to match this pathology so the god's behavior could be justified in the context of the god's positioning.
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