THE INJUSTICE OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

I was pondering the horrid state of our nation--its economy, infrastructure, political arena and our people.



This morning, CBS Sunday Morning did a feature on our Nation's Capitol. They were pointing out the decay of our most sacred grounds around the Capitol, reflecting pool and other monuments.  It seemed to scream "lack of interest" or "lack of money".  The Lincoln Monument is sinking into the basin (six inches so far this year).  What was once a beautifully manicured city has become just like the status of most American middle and lower class people's lives.



Our politicians continue to seek pork in their bills and cry that we can't afford to do the right things.  Build a multi-million dollar bridge in Alaska to nowhere and don't drill there for oil because it might hurt the reindeer.  Have they lost their minds?????

But, one of the greatest financial challenges is the prison system.  They acknowledge that they can't afford to house prisoners (even putting them in tents!!!) yet they continue to sentence fathers who can't afford to pay huge sums of support to their wives for children they can't see. 



They are still sending people to prison for lengthy "mandatory minimums" on conspiracy charges at a cost in excess of $35,000 each, leaving children of these people to be forced into State aid and to be raised by strangers.  That is as stupid as foreclosing houses so they can sit vacant in neighborhoods to house homeless drug addicts and alcoholics and ruining the fabric of decent towns and cities.



The prisons acknowledge that 85% of their female prisoners are incarcerated because they KNEW someone who was involved in drugs.  I saw a mother who was trying to earn a living by working two jobs while her teenage sons were dealing drugs.  She answered the phone and took down a phone number for them to call.  This prompted a 10-year sentence!



Another woman from Asia, who had a business and spoke little English, was sentenced for three years for tax fraud--even though her accountants (and I use the term lightly) did her books.



Prison camps should be closed!  Misdemeanor crimes should never be sent to jail!  Conspiracy should never constitute the same charge as the actual crime.

The most common sense approach to the budgets should be to look closely at what they are spending their money on and start eliminating the ridiculous expenses to house people. 



Think about it....a person gets sent away for six months.  Seems light,  but in fact it means that you lose your lease on your home or apartment; you can't pay your bills; you can't support your children and if you aren't involved in crime already, you may be forced to.  And, upon release, you now know HOW to commit crimes.  It makes no sense at all to me!



This is so indicative of "The Emperor's New Clothes"--he is buck naked, parading down the street to the applause of the crowd, thinking that he is wearing a fine cut of clothes.  This is our government...naked in common sense and thinking they are doing just fine.



And, I would be ecstatic to hear one of our elected officials say that the prisons are warehousing Americans and others and they are going to release them today!!!!