1 in 100 Americans in Prison

So I thought this was an interesting article. Lots of stuff to talk about here really, starting with the fact that 1 in 100 people (well, adults; 1 in 130 of all people according to the DOJ) in the United States is in prison. One in 9 black males between 20 and 34. Obviously there are larger issues here (mostly poverty, although the glorification of drugs and guns probably has had some role in it). But there are two issues I want to discuss here.

The first is that the study is incorrect, or at least has not proven, that there has been no increase in public safety as a result. I'll refer you to this chart and discussion. I'm not saying that there is necessarily a causal link, but the crime rate has gone down. You can argue the causality and whether or not the increase in spending is worth it, but the public is, at least statistically, safer.

Second, there are two things that contribute to the prison population. The first is the amount of activity that is criminal. The second is the length of sentencing. I think in this case the length of sentencing (especially in the federal system) is more to blame here. Drug sentences are especially long and in certain cases can be very unfair and potentially ruin a life that otherwise might have been saved. There are a large range of conversations here: the fairness of mandatory minimums, the crushing punishments for the use of a firearm, whether or not the criminal justice system is properly serving its rehabilitation purpose by applying huge sentences, etc... Overall I think the punishments are eventually acceptable (perhaps with some exceptions) because of the deterrent effect. The ones you hear about are usually the exceptional case.

I think in order to deal with this problem, the solution is not shorter sentences but solving the underlying problems: poverty, lack of education, etc... Certainly there will always be someone who is looking for the easy way out and wil turn to criminal activity in order to take advantage of others. But in some cases it is desperation. I also think there needs to be better advertisement of the fact that the penalties are so crushing; it will increase the deterrent effect of some penalties. I doubt most people know that using a gun in any crime subjects someone to a minimum of 7 years under federal guidelines.