Kudos to Jim Webb
I've long been concerned about America's drug policy, its incarceration rate, and the brutality of the prison system. I'm very encouraged to see that a major politician is taking the issue seriously. Choice quotes:
. In 1980, we had 41,000 drug offenders in prison; today we have more than 500,000, an increase of 1,200%. The blue disks represent the numbers in 1980; the red disks represent the numbers in 2007 and a significant percentage of those incarcerated are for possession or nonviolent offenses stemming from drug addiction and those sorts of related behavioral issues. . . .
and
Another piece of this issue that I hope we will address with this National Criminal Justice Commission is what happens inside our prisons. . . . We also have a situation in this country with respect to prison violence and sexual victimization that is off the charts and we must get our arms around this problem.
That's not the blogger talking, that's from Webb's speech. Just about everyone - cops, prosecutors, judges, even criminal defense attorneys and even the public at large laugh at the specter of systematic prison rape, without thinking about what they're really condoning. Sponsoring this bill, even if it just asks for a commission, takes real courage. Good for him.
. In 1980, we had 41,000 drug offenders in prison; today we have more than 500,000, an increase of 1,200%. The blue disks represent the numbers in 1980; the red disks represent the numbers in 2007 and a significant percentage of those incarcerated are for possession or nonviolent offenses stemming from drug addiction and those sorts of related behavioral issues. . . .
and
Another piece of this issue that I hope we will address with this National Criminal Justice Commission is what happens inside our prisons. . . . We also have a situation in this country with respect to prison violence and sexual victimization that is off the charts and we must get our arms around this problem.
That's not the blogger talking, that's from Webb's speech. Just about everyone - cops, prosecutors, judges, even criminal defense attorneys and even the public at large laugh at the specter of systematic prison rape, without thinking about what they're really condoning. Sponsoring this bill, even if it just asks for a commission, takes real courage. Good for him.