The United States Prison Industrial System

What's the answer to this, Contendah ? I honestly would have thought the percentage would be higher.

The answer is to get the state and local governments to stop balancing budgets on the backs of law breakers and sinners (alcohol and tobacco taxes).  Who owns the parole office and who gets probation money (which is usually more than fines and court costs).

In 1980, there were about 3,000 federal laws.  From 1788 to 1980, Congress passed 3,000 laws. Now, there are about 4,400 federal laws.  In 33 years, Congress passed 1,400 laws.  Time to pare away laws at the federal level.  BTW, I believe the prison system industries may only produce items to be used by the federal government. 

=======

First, end this insane "war on Drugs" wet dream of Richard Nixon
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Prisons_and_Drugs

Second : end the profit motive to put people in prison.

http://www.policymic.com/artic...in-the-last-19-years

We can "discuss" which of those should come first, and the sequence really shouldn't matter.

There was a time in our history where incarcerated people were there for protection of society and for punitive reasons. Prisons were state operated, and I know of at least one prison, Parchman that didn't cost the citizens of the state of Mississippi enough to make it worth mentioning. I have visited that prison on several occasions (as a college student not an inmate), and it seemed to work very well in both penal and economic considerations.

When one party got power and started wanting to privatize every damm thing, that's when it all went to hell in a handbasket. Then it was made worse by an executive order of one president who wanted anyone convected ofo any possession of illegal drugs (especially weed) , to impose a mandatory 10 year sentence, and the courts could seize just about whatever assets they wanted to seize of that person.
All that crap needs to end. It's not a Democratic, or Republican thing, it is a sane thing to do. 

Holder has ask for a change in mandatory sentences. The three strikes your out laws need to be re-looked at.

When I was growing up only the really true law breakers went to jail, now days its seems like average citizens can very easily find themselves locked up. 

And yes, most definitely we  need to end the "war on drugs"

A further problem is many of the new laws are vague, subject to prosecutor's interpretation,  We need bright line law similar to the old English common law. 

Seeweed,

I visit Parchman Penitentiary as well, as a student.  It was a fascinating place, and alsmot self sufficeint during its hey day.  They planted, farmed and harvested their own crops to eat. Prisoners took care of roads and maintenance. For years I thought almost all prisons functioned this way, but man was I wrong.  Seems to me there would be more incentive to stay out of jail if prisons operated more like Parchman.

I think marijuana decriminalized and a double sawbuck fee for possession, growing or whatever paid by envelope in a steel post as in some federal parks, where you have to retain  a crib for proof of payment daily, would erase the national debt.

I'm all for loosening the laws on marijuana, but the more serious drugs should not be legalized. I, for one, think we need to fill our prisons with violent and repeat offenders. The whole system needs a revamp.

=========

I offer a song to you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5hw9T9Ozv4
(hope you like jazz)

=======

What do you think about this as a solution for the more serious drugs ? ( I saw a TV show once about some European country that tried this and virtually overnight ended drug based street crime)

> Allow doctors to write scripts for maintenance dosages of  H and C (possibly others) for addicts.

> put those drugs in the drugstores - the actual cost of these drugs is very , very small.

Advantages:

> addicts could get their "fix" without the necessity to commit crime to obtain the ever increasing street cost. That crime including prostitution, theft, burglary, or whatever.

> it has been found that addicts can actually hold jobs and contribute to society if allowed a maintenance dose so they don't have to spend all their time trying to get the money for their next fix .

> The neighborhood pusher working on the Mr T starter set of gold jewelry will find himself without any business, and will not be on the corner trying to get your kids hooked , so he can get them to run his drugs for the cash to support their habit. Market forces will drive him out of business.
Disadvantages :

>The private penal system would suffer a loss of revenue from the state, but that negative would , to a sane person, be made up for by the taxpayers of the state saving about $35K / locked up person, and less corruption in the legal system.
> Less federal money to cities and police departments to prosecute this "war on drugs" , but that should be offset by the savings of the taxpayers of the USA.

There would probably be some number of people who would still find a way to screw up even that system, but to me it sounds far superior to the system we have now, of a cat and mouse game between cops and drug dealers and users.

Whatta you think about that ?

"Puttin' that cotton in a 11 foot sack, with a double barrel shotgun at my back"....

nice one, and is probably a good description of conditions at Parchman in the 50's and 6-'s.  It was not a place you would want to spend much time.

I ask a trustee once when I was there "if a prisoner runs, do you try to shoot him in the leg ?", His answer was "a crippled man can't pick cotton".

They had a good system, completely self sufficient except they traded cotton with the pen in La for salt, and with a pen in Ark for finished material to make the uniforms from.

They also , at the time, had little houses outside the camps for the purpose of weekend booty calls, and claimed that homosexual assaults were virtually non existent, although common in other prisons. 

I ask the warden what the most common reason for a person to be in Parchman . His answer "writing bad checks" . As that old Johnny Cash song goes "You don't go writing hot checks, down in Mississippi, and there ain't no good chain gang "

I personally think that is wishful thinking. I believe you would see an increase in pharmacy robberies. Not to mention, addicts have trouble keeping a job due to their addiction. I doubt insurance will cover "keeping my high to function." The very nature of addiction will be an obstacle for what you recommend. An addict is always trying to get that feeling of when he or she first got high. I would recommend community based corrections, treatment, and education for addicts. Instead of locking up first time possession arrests, put them in treatment and offer community based corrections like ankle monitors, drug tests, and labor such as cleaning parts of the city or roads. You could have them remove graffiti, keep street numbers painted and visible, or maintain a job in lieu of that punishment. Of course, the problem is that that end of the contract is seldom met. I see it all of the time. That is why so many end up in prison. Who knows what will work. However, pushers and distributors can sit in prison in my opinion. That goes for the doctors who write prescriptions like they are giving away candy.