He is very experienced in criminal law and is against mandatory sentencing. This journal presents information that the mandatory sentencing policy in the U.S. is a failure. It argues that Legislators thought that they could “get tough on crime,” especially drug crime. I feel this source gives educated reasons as to why drug policy needs to be changed. It also backs up my other sources with the same research results; by removing the sentencing discretion of judges, and replacing it with mandatory jail sentences, we are sending more offenders to prison instead of programs designed to rehabilitate.
The distribution and use of drugs has led to an increase in arrest and conviction of individuals under economic strain. For instance, individuals that live in deteriorated communities that can not excess adequate education and health care are at higher risk of substance abuse than any other community and will be the majority of the prison system. It is suggested that there is four models that help explain the path way to criminality of a person and they focus on the ending result after the use of illegal substances. The four models are called intoxication, addiction, systemic, and legal (WSSAC, 2009). The intoxication model suggests that individuals will not use rational thought while intoxicated which leads to the addiction model which states that crimes are committed so the addict can support the habit (WSSAC,2009) The systemic model states that crime occurs when the participant of the drug trade sales the drug.
To enforce this law the police have the special powers to stop, detain and search people on 'reasonable suspicion' that they are in possession of a controlled drug. The laws controlling drug use are complicated. The Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) regulates what are termed controlled drugs. It divides drugs into three classes as follows: 1.2 The new ten-year drug strategy (2008-2018) aims to restrict the supply of illegal drugs and reduce the demand for them. It focuses on protecting families and strengthening
Everyone in society plays a particular role. Social justice advocates might be concerned about incarceration rates that show racial disproportions and a fiscally conservative taxpayer would also be worried about the cost of said “war on drugs.” State legislatures need new ideas and solutions to come out of the war on drugs, considering policy change is in their hands. The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. The inmate population grew considerably by 1,849 prisoners a week in 1996; that is 264 people a day. One out of every 155 U.S. residents has been behind bars, putting the United States only second to Russia and it’s per person rate of incarceration.
They STOP THE INCARCERATION AND START THE REHABILITATION 15 participate in anger management courses and substance abuse counseling if necessary, and do manual labor on the facility grounds or in the community. (Clark, 2013). Although shock incarceration is a better solution then adult prisons, it has been criticized over its incidents involving abuse of inmates by staff. (Cullen, 2012) Punishment and rehabilitation are a major part of the criminal justice system and will be effective in controlling crime if there is a way to incorporate the two factors to work together. Punishing and following up with rehabilitation through community supervision can help prevent crime.
According to a project run by The Huffington Post, 40% of juvenile offenders sent to private prisons on account of drug related crimes are arrested and convicted of harsher crimes in less than a year from their release (Kirkham). Moreover, the concept of combating drugs with the threat of imprisonment is counterproductive. Imprisoning low level drug-dealers for long periods of time creates a gaping void in the market, quickly replaced by desperate individuals wanting to generate an income, and the number of potential “criminals” skyrockets. Thus, by locking away non-violent offenders with such long sentences, the incarceration boom is being promoted, and wrecking societal
http://abcnews.go.com/http://abcnews.go.com/ Judge: California Mistreating Mentally Ill Inmates Judge says pepper-spraying, isolation violate rights of mentally ill inmates in California By DON THOMPSON The Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. A federal judge ruled Thursday that California's treatment of mentally ill inmates violates constitutional safeguards against cruel and unusual punishment through excessive use of pepper spray and isolation. U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento gave the corrections department time to issue updated policies on the use of both methods but did not ban them. He offered a range of options on how officials could limit the use of pepper spray and isolation units when dealing with more
From my point of view this decision should be completely based off of the basis of the crime. For example if someone is being convicted for a drugs charge instead of putting them behind bars they should be sent to a rehabilitation center where they can actually treat a possible addiction. More than half of the people arrested in the United States are tested positive for some sort of drug. Why not try to rehabilitate these people instead of putting them behind bars where
In 2004, there were 4,919 black inmates per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to 1,717 Hispanic males per 100,000 and only 717 white males per 100,000. This seems to be quite the racial divide. This could be the result of racism within the system. In a similar issue, the percentage of women in the prison system is on the rise as well. The number of women has risen 2.9% since 1995, reaching 103,310 in 2001, compared to 2.0% increase in male inmates, reaching 1,390,906.
When I did get caught up in the legal system, the first question my attorney asked was, “Are you an addict?” He further explained that if I was on drugs when I committed my crime, the District Attorney would be willing to make a deal for less jail time. The reasoning was that by being an addict I was not responsible for my actions, due to the fact that I was under the influence of a narcotic. The basic relationship between drug use and crime is simple. It is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute any drugs with a high potential for abuse such as marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine. It is also illegal to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.