What's Wrong with This Picture?
The American Prison System.
Trina L.C. Sonnenberg
Anyone can see that there is a definite over population problem within the prison system here in the U.S.. Politicians talk about it, law makers have brought it to the table and brushed it aside, and some foolish men in power, actually decided that the solution to the dilemma would be to offer 'early release' to quite a few prisoners. I'm not talking about petty criminals either. All the pot smokers doing time are still doing it; violent criminals have been put through 'early release. Let me say that another way... Violent criminals have been freed to walk among us.
Excerpt from: Dozens back in prison after Ill. parole crackdown
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 11:10 AM EST
The Associated Press
By JOHN O'CONNOR AP Political Writer
State records show that through Wednesday morning, 110 had gone back since Jan. 4, mostly for violent offenses. Forty-two returnees had been convicted of unlawful use of weapons and 17 for domestic or aggravated battery, according to an AP review. Others who have landed back in prison committed such crimes as repeat drunken driving, theft and financial fraud."
The criminal justice system in this country is broken; has been broken, but no one will get off their ass to fix it in a way that is not putting your life and mine in peril. Hello!
Priorities people! Priorities!
First of all, we need to stop incarcerating people for benign things like smoking marijuana. Our prisons are crammed with people convicted of harming no one. Then, we need to work on the justice process itself.
The process of proving guilt must be perfected through scientific means to ensure that no one is wrongfully convicted. If science can investigate the surface of Mars, then it should not be impossible to prevent wrongful convictions.
Time to clean house:
All incarcerated, illegal immigrants should be deported to their country of origin. Without a doubt! If they are illegally here, then they should be put out. If they aren't supposed to be here in the first place, and they break the law, send 'em home - we don't need 'em!
Look at how much more room the prisons have now.
With the remaining offenders, we need to examine them on a case by case basis to determine if they can, or should be rehabilitated. Sex offenders - No. Murderers - No. Child molesters - No
The truly mentally ill should receive the medically deemed treatment they need, regardless of whether or not they can be rehabilitated. That is a given. Their mental illness is their punishment. Prison alone, pales in comparison to their existing torment.
True, insanity is a form of mental illness, but it should not be used as a defense. A crime has still been committed, there has been suffering on the part of a victim, and punishment should be handed down. The truly insane are kept in padded cells, not prisons, anyway. Ed Gein died in a mental institution; Jeffrey Dahmer died in prison. See the difference?
Ed Gein was truly insane. He could not be helped, but at the same time he had to be kept away from the public, to keep the public safe. So, he spent the rest of his life locked up in Mendota Mental Health, Madison, Wisconsin. He was criminally insane.
Jeffrey Dahmer, on the other hand, was messed up, for sure; but he was not insane. He was sick, but he knew what he was doing and didn't care that it was wrong. In my opinion, he should have been executed. All people like him should be. I guess an inmate took care of that though, 'eh?
Can sex offenders be rehabilitated? According to the exhaustive studies that have been done, the answer is, no. Whatever it is that drives them can't be switched off. Castration doesn't usually work, the nature of the crime does. Those who have been castrated probably become consumed with rage adding to that which they already possessed, so that they continue to commit violent crimes, just not sex crimes.
It's not sex that motivates them to begin with. It is the release of pent up rage, exercised in the controlling of another person.
I say, 'If they can't be rehabilitated into a productive member of society, then execute the lot.' Why should law abiding citizens have to pay to keep them alive?
Gangs are a problem in prisons too. We mustn't forget to mention them. I think gang members should be given an option: play by society's rules or get a bullet in the head. Let them choose their own fate. If they choose reform and screw it up, no more options. To Hell with three strikes... a second chance is all you get.
I know I sound harsh, but let's get real here... Letting them out early is not a solution to the problem. Forcing tax payers to feed, clothe and shelter them is not making anyone happy, and what is the point of keeping them around if they'll never do any better in life?
There are too many people in prison who shouldn't be there - petty crimes with long sentences. There are too many people in our prisons who do not even belong in this country. And there are too many people in our prisons who will leave, only to return time and time again, hurting more people in the process.
The problem has been identified; a possible solution offered. My work here is done.
Copyright © 2010
The Trii-Zine Ezine
About the Author:
Trina L.C. Sonnenberg
Publisher - The Trii-Zine Ezine - Your Trusted Source for Internet Business and Marketing Information. EST 2001. ISSN# 1555-2276
Author of: My Journey A Lifetime of Verse, ISBN: 978-0-61516405-2
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