Why We Must Reform Our Criminal Justice System

[daniel green]

America's criminal justice system is broken. How broken? The numbers are stark:

• The United States has 5% of the world's population, yet possesses 25% of the world's prison population;
• More than 2.38 million Americans are now in prison, and another 5 million remain on probation or parole. That amounts to 1 in every 31 adults in the United States is in prison, in jail, or on supervised release;
• Incarcerated drug offenders have soared 1200% since 1980, up from 41,000 to 500,000 in 2008; and
• 60% of offenders are arrested for non-violent offensives--many driven by mental illness or drug addiction.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-jim-webb/why-we-must-reform-our-cr_b_214130.html

By Sen Jim Webb.

[rowstreeter]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-jim-webb/why-we-must-reform-our-cr_b_214130.html

By Sen Jim Webb.

"60% of offenders are arrested for non-violent offensives--many driven by mental illness or drug addiction."


Well, this makes sense, we pay $50,000 a year per prisoner, instead of giving them mental health care when they don't have insurance coverage.

We would rather imprison mental cases and drug addicts, than treat them. After all, the health insurance companies MUST make a profit, and we the tax payers MUST pay for addicts and mentally ill to be housed in jails.