Friday, May 28, 2004
The U.S. Dept. of
Justice just released the latest figures on
American prisons.
Currently, there are 2.1 million people
incarcerated.
Any time you
hear America is a democracy, where citizens have rights, remember that prisons
represent our 35th largest state.
We have more people in prison than
live in Nevada, West Virginia, New Mexico, Nebraska, Maine, Idaho, New
Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North
Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, or Wyoming.
According to a report by the
Sentencing project, crime rates have
been declining since 1990, but the
prison population has risen by 49% during this time.
America now is the
greatest jailer on earth. .... Our rate of imprisoning our citizens
is approximately 600% higher than either China or Canada.
Racially,
things are even worse. In historical perspective, the
899,000
African Americans incarcerated today are nine times the
number of 98,000
in 1954, the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. So there
are now 900% more blacks in prison today than there were 50 years ago, while
the black population has only doubled, or increased 100%.
Put another
way, you can say that a black person is nine times more likely to be held a
prisoner today in the U.S. than they were in 1954.
The huge surge in
incarcerations are almost all due to punitive and racist laws that criminalize
behavior that is considered to be minor in other countries. Among this
are non-violent drug offenses, and the notorious three strikes laws. For
example, again using info from the sentencing project, in California,
which has a three strikes law, "the third "strike" of more than half (57%) of
these persons is for a non-violent offense.
In one recent case, Santo Reyes
was sentenced to 26 years to life for trying to take the written portion of a
driver's license test for his illiterate cousin. Reyes had previously had a
juvenile burglary
conviction in 1981 and an adult robbery conviction in
1987.
In America we have imprisoned for life a man who committed two
robberies in 24 years, and then tried to take a written license test for his
illiterate cousin. ....
Aside from General Motors,
America's most thriving economy is its Prison Industry. Just like
General Motors, the judges, prosecutors, clerks, attorneys, law enforcement
officers, food & transportation industries, prison guards, gun
manufacturers, construction contractors make untold billions and billions
of dollars annually catering to this Industry.
Yes. the Prison
Industry is a very lucrative business upon which millions profit and
depend. The more prisons built, the more people they can
thrown in prison. Every prison must be
kept to overflow. The objective is to make sure there are no empty beds, for empty
beds are indicative of lost revenue to the Prison
Industry. Of all things, they must keep that
turn$tyle turning. The faster the better, racking up billion$ for more
construction for prisons, more guards, more lawyers, more judges, more police,
etc., etc.
This is why, left to its
own conclusion, there shall never be a conclusion to crime on the
streets, for crime is so very profitable and important to the existence of
government. Without it, people would start questioning the need for so
much government. Crime gives the politicians the ammunition needed to
sing their re-election hymn, "Vote For Me," with its first
stanzas, "I'm Tough On Crime!" And so goes the American Prison
Industry until it exceeds the size of that of General
Motors.
"..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.." - Samuel
Adams
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who
is
striking at the
root."
-- Henry David Thoreau
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