Outrageous.......
|
|
| Also listed in: America for Gay Rights | Americans for America | Supporters of President-Elect Barack Obama: An Honest Government, A Hopeful Future | What About Us |
I recently read an article about a certain governor commuting the sentences of several condemned men and was truly astonished by the ignorance of one respondents statement saying that these men should not be commuted because ALL they will do is "be in prison for the rest of their natural lives and not work, not do nothing, just lift weights, watch TV and have a good time - all on the taxpayer dollar." I was outraged to think that she considered prison some sort of a free resort. As if the loss of freedom, dignity, choice, respect, basic human rights, and family and societal connections for the rest of their lives were not enough.
I think it's time for the American "taxpayer" to wake up and realize just how much we harm ourselves and our great nation with absurd statements such as this. It is because of this type of attitude that every petty criminal from the street-level drug dealer to the low-level credit card thief are being sent to prison, at an alarming rate, for five or more years instead of being offered the counseling and training they may need to become productive citizens in the future. More often than not, these are first-time offenders and drug addicts. People whose lives could be turned around with a little compassion. A person that goes to prison for five years or more for selling a $50 bag of crack cocaine can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to house whereas counseling, treatment, or job skills training would cost a tiny fraction of that.
Where has the humanity and compassion gone? Are we only concerned about money and no longer concerned with the value of human lives? We can turn this around but it will take a true "democracy" to do so.......
I think it's time for the American "taxpayer" to wake up and realize just how much we harm ourselves and our great nation with absurd statements such as this. It is because of this type of attitude that every petty criminal from the street-level drug dealer to the low-level credit card thief are being sent to prison, at an alarming rate, for five or more years instead of being offered the counseling and training they may need to become productive citizens in the future. More often than not, these are first-time offenders and drug addicts. People whose lives could be turned around with a little compassion. A person that goes to prison for five years or more for selling a $50 bag of crack cocaine can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to house whereas counseling, treatment, or job skills training would cost a tiny fraction of that.
Where has the humanity and compassion gone? Are we only concerned about money and no longer concerned with the value of human lives? We can turn this around but it will take a true "democracy" to do so.......
I hear that Congress is finally beginning work on reforming the racist (yes i said it) mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines from the Reagan/Bush "war on drugs" years.... it's never too late to release these political prisoners I guess (yes, I said that, too... LOL, i must sound like a real extremist at this point).
We also need to make sure that ex-cons who have served their time should have their voting rights returned. It's a disgrace this even happens at all... these people served their time, and they deserve all the rights of a free citizen. If we don't do this, we are not living up to our promise - nor are we doing justice to our penal system, which is based on the idea of prison as a deterrent from crime NOT a dead end for the most minor offenses.
Thank you for your post, but I fear you will continue to see more cynical, bitter, and fearful replies... there is just not that much compassion out there anymore.