November 14th, 2012 at 2:51PM

The Constitution established four federal crimes. Today the experts can’t even agree on how many federal crimes are now on the books—they number into the thousands. No one person can comprehend the enormity of the legal system—especially the tax code. Due to the ill-advised drug war and the endless federal expansion of the criminal code we have over 6 million people under correctional suspension, more than the Soviets ever had, and more than any other nation today, including China. I don’t understand the complacency of the Congress and the willingness to continue their obsession with passing more Federal laws. Mandatory sentencing laws associated with drug laws have compounded our prison problems.

The federal register is now 75,000 pages long and the tax code has 72,000 pages, and expands every year. When will the people start shouting, “enough is enough,” and demand Congress cease and desist.

 — Ron Paul, Farewell Address (via thevocalibertarian)

(via byulibertarian)
49 notes Source: thefreelioness #ron paul#prison system#Constitution#Law#Politics#Quotes
August 21st, 2012 at 9:55AM

disobey:

US Prison Population: The Largest in the World

The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world—more even than China or Russia. Prof. Daniel J. D’Amico explains that as of 2010 more than 1.6 million people were serving jail sentences in America. Professor D’Amico suggests that “prisons are not what we think about when we think of America, and they shouldn’t have to be.” According to D’Amico, a free country should not have 1.6 million people in prison, and a fiscally responsible country cannot afford to. As Prof. D’Amico points out, it is time for Americans to recognize that the U.S. criminal justice system is desperately in need of reform.


Learn More:

1. “The Caging of America” [article]: Wide ranging New Yorker piece, discusses history, ethics, everyday prisoner experience. Explores a few theories as to why our prison system is the way it is.

http://nyr.kr/OGTXrd

2. “The Business Ethics of Incarceration: The Moral Implications of Treating Prisons Like Businesses” [scholarly article]: Professor D’Amico addesses the economics and morality of prison and prison privatization.

http://bit.ly/OsMQFD

3. “U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations” [article]: New York Times article focusing on America’s disproportionate prison population.

http://nyti.ms/QSVprm

4. “Prisoners’ Poetry” [poems]: A website featuring poems written by prisoners.

http://bit.ly/Sd93to


Discussion Questions:

1. What are the causes for the unusually high incarceration rate in the United States?

2. Do you think prisons are an effective way of handling crime?

3. What alternatives or reforms to the current prison system can you imagine for handling crime more effectively?

66 notes Source: iambinarymind #Politics#United States#Prison System#Police State#Freedom#Liberty#Libertarian#Drug Policy
June 26th, 2012 at 3:10PM
Prison as a deterrent does not work. If it did, America would be the safest country on earth. — The Economist (via maxistentialist)

(via anti-propaganda)
314 notes Source: economist.com #Quotes#The Economist#Prison System#Police State#Politics
June 5th, 2012 at 2:31PM
occupyallstreets: 10 Facts That Prove America Is A Police State: With only 5% of the world’s population, US has 25% of world’s prison population. China, which has a population 4 times larger than that of the United States, comes in second with 14% of the world’s incarcerated population. More than 1 in every 100 American adults are incarcerated, the highest incarceration rate in the world. When divided by race, 1 in 106 white men are incarcerated while 1 in 36 Hispanic men, 1 in 15 black men and 1 in 9 for black men ages 20-34 are behind bars. It costs an average of $23,876 per year to incarcerate one inmate. That is more than twice the combined amount it costs to provide healthcare and education to one American. The United States spent $44 billion in tax dollars in 2007 on corrections. U.S. incarceration rates are significantly larger than those in any other liberal democracy. While violent crime decreased, incarceration rates sharply increased. Half of all inmates in state prisons are behind bars for non-violent offenses. If you include jails, 60 percent of inmates are nonviolent offenders. This doesn’t even touch on the controls and rules that apply to the non-prison population. 

occupyallstreets:

10 Facts That Prove America Is A Police State:

  • With only 5% of the world’s population, US has 25% of world’s prison population.
  • China, which has a population 4 times larger than that of the United States, comes in second with 14% of the world’s incarcerated population.
  • More than 1 in every 100 American adults are incarcerated, the highest incarceration rate in the world.
  • When divided by race, 1 in 106 white men are incarcerated while 1 in 36 Hispanic men, 1 in 15 black men and 1 in 9 for black men ages 20-34 are behind bars.
  • It costs an average of $23,876 per year to incarcerate one inmate. That is more than twice the combined amount it costs to provide healthcare and education to one American.
  • The United States spent $44 billion in tax dollars in 2007 on corrections.
  • U.S. incarceration rates are significantly larger than those in any other liberal democracy.
  • While violent crime decreased, incarceration rates sharply increased.
  • Half of all inmates in state prisons are behind bars for non-violent offenses.
  • If you include jails, 60 percent of inmates are nonviolent offenders.

This doesn’t even touch on the controls and rules that apply to the non-prison population. 

(via lalibertarienne)

1,230 notes Source: occupyallstreets #Politics#United States#Police State#Prison System