Medieval Times Come To America

By Restless [Originally on goofyblog 4.25.08]
“The treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country.” - Winston Churchill
The United States currently incarcerates 738 people per 100,000 of population. Europe’s average is 200 (The United Kingdom is 145). Only Russia comes close at 603 per 100,000.

The U.S. is the only Democracy that indefinitely disenfranchises non-incarcerated felons, a practice prohibited by the international covenant of civil and political rights to which America is a signatory.
But who cares about these criminals and their namby-pamby “rights?”

Answer: You do.

Studies show that 2/3rds of ex-convicts vote Democratic. 5.4 Million Were disenfranchised in 2000 and 2004. Do the math – we should have had a different President all these long years.

Furthermore, allowing those who’ve served their time to vote would have prevented at least 7 key Republicans (John Warner, Connie Mack, Mel Martinez, etc.) from staying in, or getting elected to office.

The United States is also the first country to re-instate the practice of civil death or “Dead in Law” once popular in Europe about 500 years ago. It is the idea that a person can never repay their debt to society; after they do their penitence (in a penitentiary) they must run a gauntlet of years of parole or probation.

Then, the death part begins: Invasive background checks ensure unemployment or under-employment. Having a criminal record can keep you from getting an apartment, a government loan, even a driver’s license in some states.

The vaunted dip of unemployment in the US during the 90’s? Over 2 million prisoners and 600,000 more awaiting trial went unaccounted for, and still remain excluded. Meanwhile, 60% of black men have done time by the time they reach their mid 30’s.

True, the crime rate dipped in the 90’s, but was it the prosperous times, or was it the draconian sentences being meted out daily throughout the land? As economic times worsen, the crime rate is rising, putting the lie to this cruel practice that harms families and relatives of the Ex-Convict, and society in general.

What’s up with this? A Society turns on its own people. Creationism taught in schools, Laissez-faire capitalism is king, a country moving backwards.

“We don’t want to build more prisons; we don’t want to lock people up.” - Sen. Sam Brownback, Conservative Republican, former Presidential Candidate, after spending a night in a cell at Angola prison in Louisiana.

Dateline California –
In a move to ease chronic overcrowding, California approved the largest single prison construction program in the nation’s history. The plan will cost $8.3 billion and add 53,000 prison beds.

Based on current spending trends, California’s prison budget will over take spending on the states universities in 5 years. But California has all but guaranteed that prisons will eat up an increasingly large share of the taxpayer’s money because of chronic failures in a system that the state is now planning to expand.