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The prisons of the rest of the world have low populations
Why
Forced labor
Almost 100% of American felons are classified as unable to work many can bench press over 400 lbs
Most developed countries don't utilize penal labour to the extent of the US.
Look into the conditions of prisons in Northern and Western Europe. They're luxurious spa resorts in comparison to the US.
The US is the only country that turned a prison system into a business. Sounds great until you realize that they need to keep charging people, many falsely, to maintain a large number of incarcerated people to max their profits.
If they were decent people they wouldn't be in jail. #2 It's the court system and the district attorney's office that put folks in jail. "For profit prisons" just house them.
Another one who thinks all laws are based on what's moral and ethical. If only.
And you don't think the for-profit prisons do their damndest to lobby governments into giving them more bodies?
If laws were based on what's truly right and just, that kind of bs wouldn't be allowed.
So lock up drug users just in case they might do something violent one day?
How about lock people up for expressing desire for a new pair of runners. Some people who want shoes steal them, right?
What's next, thoughtcrimes?
Nice strawman argument. I choose my words very carefully. People like you do not. You also do not read my words closely. Had your read more closely, you would know that I wrote that one of effects of locking up a lot of drug offenders is that many violent people are taken off the streets. I make this point for two reasons:
1. To counter the naive, ignorant position of most here that drug offenders are "nonviolent" criminals. Most are not. Most drug offenders sent to prison have long lists of arrests and convictions before they're finally sentenced to serious time. As I always say, using this logic, Al Capone was a "nonviolent" offender. He was convicted of tax evasion.
2. To point out that that as we go down this road of releasing more felons from prison, we can expect to see more violence perpetrated against innocents.
I find that folks who advocate decriminalization of drugs (I used to be one of those advocates) generally repeat lines they've heard, which they don't question and which they don't verify. For example, advocates for "criminal justice reform" often base their case upon the conflict perspective. In this case, the premise that whites have devised a system that deliberately targets "people of color," which results in disproportionate numbers of minorities arrested and convicted. They buttress their arguments by using an example like the differential sentences for crack versus powder cocaine. What they don't say or don't know is that blacks in urban communities are the folks who pushed for harsher sentences for dealing and using crack cocaine because it was ruining their neighborhoods. I had a quote from Dick Gregory (that right-wing reactionary) supporting this at one point.
It's easy for the sort of people who generally post here to call for releasing criminals. They generally don't have to worry about living next to released drug dealers and habitual users. They don't sentence themselves to live among these miscreants. They sentence poor people to do that.
You could sleep better if we could close down the market for stolen copper. Make it illegal to recycle copper without a certified provenance or have it done through a formal agency of some sort. You can't recycle railroad rails...I tried. It's illegal.
As an electrician, I completely disagree. We would always let our apprentices and clean-up crews have all the scrap left over. Its gas/beer money. It has to be easy to recycle, if not, the cost of building wire would skyrocket! And we will pass that expense on to the customer. Believe me
Nice strawman argument. I choose my words very carefully. People like you do not. You also do not read my words closely. Had your read more closely, you would know that I wrote that one of effects of locking up a lot of drug offenders is that many violent people are taken off the streets. I make this point for two reasons:
1. To counter the naive, ignorant position of most here that drug offenders are "nonviolent" criminals. Most are not. Most drug offenders sent to prison have long lists of arrests and convictions before they're finally sentenced to serious time. As I always say, using this logic, Al Capone was a "nonviolent" offender. He was convicted of tax evasion.
2. To point out that that as we go down this road of releasing more felons from prison, we can expect to see more violence perpetrated against innocents.
I find that folks who advocate decriminalization of drugs (I used to be one of those advocates) generally repeat lines they've heard, which they don't question and which they don't verify. For example, advocates for "criminal justice reform" often base their case upon the conflict perspective. In this case, the premise that whites have devised a system that deliberately targets "people of color," which results in disproportionate numbers of minorities arrested and convicted. They buttress their arguments by using an example like the differential sentences for crack versus powder cocaine. What they don't say or don't know is that blacks in urban communities are the folks who pushed for harsher sentences for dealing and using crack cocaine because it was ruining their neighborhoods. I had a quote from Dick Gregory (that right-wing reactionary) supporting this at one point.
It's easy for the sort of people who generally post here to call for releasing criminals. They generally don't have to worry about living next to released drug dealers and habitual users. They don't sentence themselves to live among these miscreants. They sentence poor people to do that.
If you think most drug users are violent criminals, you have no idea how many people use cannabis.
Do you honestly think most of those nearly 1 in 4 American young adults are violent crininals?
Sure you'd be taking away a lot of violent criminals if you locked up such a large swath of the population. Some drug users do rob people so they can afford their next high. But plenty of other people rob others so they can buy flashy clothing and jewellery. Should those things be banned too? Considering that cannabis is not physically addictive, how is this so different?
You ever stop to think that maybe drug users end up becoming undesirable "miscreants" because of the prejudice society has towards those with any arrest record? It's much harder for them to find an apartment to rent or get a decent job. When they're shut out of society, they do what they have to do to survive. Why would they care about fitting in with proper society at that point, when they've been permanently shut out no matter what?
Considering that 44% of all Americans have tried pot at least once, it's shocking how most of them are normal productive citizens. It's almost as if not ruining their lives allows them to move on and contribute to society.
Do you honestly think most of those nearly 1 in 4 American young adults are violent crininals?
Sure you'd be taking away a lot of violent criminals if you locked up such a large swath of the population. Some drug users do rob people so they can afford their next high. But plenty of other people rob others so they can buy flashy clothing and jewellery. Should those things be banned too? Considering that cannabis is not physically addictive, how is this so different?
You ever stop to think that maybe drug users end up becoming undesirable "miscreants" because of the prejudice society has towards those with any arrest record? It's much harder for them to find an apartment to rent or get a decent job. When they're shut out of society, they do what they have to do to survive. Why would they care about fitting in with proper society at that point, when they've been permanently shut out no matter what?
Considering that 44% of all Americans have tried pot at least once, it's shocking how most of them are normal productive citizens. It's almost as if not ruining their lives allows them to move on and contribute to society.
No, I don't think 1 out of 4 people who've ever tried drugs are violent criminals. Have you read this thread? We're discussing people in prison. Very, very few people are sitting in prison for marijuana possession. Do you know any statistics on that? Do you know any actual facts? You're regurgitating talking points from the marijuana industry and the legalization advocates. Most of the propaganda they put out is...ser-prise, ser-prise...false! Shhhhhocking! Those folks love useful idiots who will spread their propaganda. It lines their pocketbooks, you see.
Yes, yes...if we just remove the stigma attached to drug dealers and drug abusers, they will go straight and find legitimate employment. More naivete and ignorance.
How about addressing the root of the problem instead of just throwing more and more people into jail.
It's like being too focused on bailing water out of a leaking boat to bother fixing up the hole first.
How does the US culture create more bad people than any other country in the world? (Judging by its #1 incarceration rate)
Its more lucrative to 'treat' rather than 'cure'.
What would US law enforcement do if the military destroyed the drug cartels and stopped the flow of drugs coming in? Most would be laid off, depts would loose budget money over the years, less spending on equipment, training, personel, etc. In my city, drug crime and drug related crime make up 70% of TOTAL crime...if that was to go away, what would police be left to deal with on a daily basis?
Law enforcement needs the drugs to flow in consistently as much as the drug cartels need the US to have tough drug laws in place, one cannot thrive without the other, they both rely on each other.
The US is the only country that turned a prison system into a business. Sounds great until you realize that they need to keep charging people, many falsely, to maintain a large number of incarcerated people to max their profits.
Exactly, this is why they do not ever go after the source of illegal drugs, they need the drugs to continue to flow, in order to justify waging the drug war.
Its so extremely corrupt, I doubt any of us would believe how bad it truly is!
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