Justice in America: Illusion or Reality
As the United States deals with the aftermath of the Great Recession, one of the things I have been waiting for is a debate on Justice in America. The past 30 years has seen a massive explosion of the Prison Population under a law and order regime which is apparently set to continue.
Some of the statistics are simply staggering. The estimates I have seen on the U.S. Prison population range between 2 Million to 2.4 Million Prisoner. This is a little less than 1 percent of the U.S. population. An estimated 200,000 prisoners are over 50 and their healthcare costs are on the rise. But, if one factors in the people under probation, parole or other judicial supervision, the number mushrooms to some 1 in 31 adults. It is probably one of the biggest growth industries. I would even suggest that the growth is more than the so-called healthcare and financial industries.
Although I have periodically commented on this, I continue to be shocked when I revisit this issue. I am especially blown away at California's spending on Prisoners vs. what it spends on Children. When no less of an emminent person as Justice Kennedy admonished California, California leaders have to wake up and realize how bad things are. There is no question that prisoners have to have an opportunity to redeem themselves. But, prisons today are universities for repeat offenders. Yet, California spends $ 50,000 per prisoner to perpetuate, while it struggles to spend $ 7,000 per child. It is probably even worst at the Federal level. There are some 4,000 Federal Crimes for which an American can be prosecuted by the Federal Government. This is also made worst by the loss of discretion by Judges due to the imposition of mandatory sentencing.
There is no question that a perfect storm is upon us. The question is what can be done. There are test cases that should be looked at to re-engineer the way that Justice policies are carried out with the greater good in mind. I am particuarly fascinated by the Dutch example. There is of course what happened in New York due to changes. There was a prisoner drop of 15% as a result of changes it has introduced. I'll be talking about it in subsequent write-ups.
There is no choice but to transform. The current road is the road to nowhere. As this transformation gains momentum, there needs to be a close eye on the emerging For-Profit Prison Industry. I am impressed by the biggest player, Corrections Corporation of America. They seem to be a major player in the on-going so-called "Papers Please" law in Arizona due to the inroads they have made with Jan Brewer's Adminstration. There is a better way--and the courage to begin this conversation has to take place. The "fierce urgency of now" is ever more crucial now than ever before.
Some of the statistics are simply staggering. The estimates I have seen on the U.S. Prison population range between 2 Million to 2.4 Million Prisoner. This is a little less than 1 percent of the U.S. population. An estimated 200,000 prisoners are over 50 and their healthcare costs are on the rise. But, if one factors in the people under probation, parole or other judicial supervision, the number mushrooms to some 1 in 31 adults. It is probably one of the biggest growth industries. I would even suggest that the growth is more than the so-called healthcare and financial industries.
Although I have periodically commented on this, I continue to be shocked when I revisit this issue. I am especially blown away at California's spending on Prisoners vs. what it spends on Children. When no less of an emminent person as Justice Kennedy admonished California, California leaders have to wake up and realize how bad things are. There is no question that prisoners have to have an opportunity to redeem themselves. But, prisons today are universities for repeat offenders. Yet, California spends $ 50,000 per prisoner to perpetuate, while it struggles to spend $ 7,000 per child. It is probably even worst at the Federal level. There are some 4,000 Federal Crimes for which an American can be prosecuted by the Federal Government. This is also made worst by the loss of discretion by Judges due to the imposition of mandatory sentencing.
There is no question that a perfect storm is upon us. The question is what can be done. There are test cases that should be looked at to re-engineer the way that Justice policies are carried out with the greater good in mind. I am particuarly fascinated by the Dutch example. There is of course what happened in New York due to changes. There was a prisoner drop of 15% as a result of changes it has introduced. I'll be talking about it in subsequent write-ups.
There is no choice but to transform. The current road is the road to nowhere. As this transformation gains momentum, there needs to be a close eye on the emerging For-Profit Prison Industry. I am impressed by the biggest player, Corrections Corporation of America. They seem to be a major player in the on-going so-called "Papers Please" law in Arizona due to the inroads they have made with Jan Brewer's Adminstration. There is a better way--and the courage to begin this conversation has to take place. The "fierce urgency of now" is ever more crucial now than ever before.
Mike Pouraryan
