Thursday, May 20, 2010

Green Prisons

I just came across a very interesting article that gives perspective into the prison monopoly that has been created through U.S. Government regulation of, well, Freedom and Liberty. It carries factual evidence revealing how relevant this actually is to the general public then, but also today, yet it is still so overlooked (like so many other askew aspects of society these days). A few examples of what is included: The major increase in criminals being imprisoned and rise of drug-related crimes involving time behind bars. The lessening of violent crime sentences, meaning more offenders of violent crimes are being released back out onto the streets (and then most likely going back in to help maintain this high prisoner population). How government policies have effected the tripling of inmates entering prison, especially since most of these new policies refuted alternative sentencing. How these changes in policies and enhanced government regulation has actually caused more harm to general public safety.

The article exploits how the majority of prisons in the United States are overcrowded (Florida prisons held 20,000 inmates in fiscal year 1980-81 and now (1994) hold over 48,000), which only opens the door for the continuously piling reports of assaults on both guards and inmates. The only thing this has accomplished is a higher percentage of the population being incarcerated, which results in billions and billions of tax dollars being spent to maintain these operations. *California spends $2.1 billion a year operating its prison system and has $4 billion in prison construction scheduled. Pennsylvania saw its corrections budget soar from $126 million to $453 million in 10 years. Even in frugal New Hampshire spending on prisons has risen three times faster than other state spending.*

This article was written in 1994 but has much contrast to today's current increasing prisoner rate - it has only gotten worse over the past 16 years. The article is fascinating and although it is lengthy, there is good reason for its extensiveness.

Prison Blues: How America's Foolish Sentencing Policies Endanger Public Safety

More Government Regulation = More Problems

It's Plain, It's Simple, It's Logical: The People That Make Up The Country Deserve More Say Than Filling A Ballot To Which Politician Of Two Parties They Will Elect As God Of Their Falsely Identified Sovereign Nation

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