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Originally posted by sam_tem View Post
edit: and to be timely, the economist just posted a new article about crime and punishment in america
http://www.economist.com/node/16640389
it just makes me think of a string of drug charges in east texas recently that i saw. these guys were getting put away with 17-30yr charges all for selling a couple ounces of weed. of course these guys were all black in east texas with prior counts of posession, but is it seriously wise to lock these guys up for this long? the rest of their entire lives will be supported by the taxpayer because they won't be able to get a decent job once they get out. these people need oppurtunities to escape their addiction, not a taxpayer funded jail life. of course, weed is no more an addiction than a big mac. what they really need is counseling and job training so that they can rise up out of poverty.
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Originally posted by sam_tem View Posti guess this was a more lengthy headline article:
it just makes me think of a string of drug charges in east texas recently that i saw. these guys were getting put away with 17-30yr charges all for selling a couple ounces of weed. of course these guys were all black in east texas with prior counts of posession, but is it seriously wise to lock these guys up for this long? the rest of their entire lives will be supported by the taxpayer because they won't be able to get a decent job once they get out. these people need oppurtunities to escape their addiction, not a taxpayer funded jail life. of course, weed is no more an addiction than a big mac. what they really need is counseling and job training so that they can rise up out of poverty.
Here in Champaign, we have something appalling going on drug-policy wise.
The entirety of Champaign (and, I believe, Urbana), is full of "microparks." These are parks too small to use. Most of them are a patch of grass between 5'x5', and 10'x10', many even smaller. Some are literally a row of hedges, completely unusable. Each has a huge sign placed diagonally (except the ones that can't fit a sign, then there's a placard), so on most of them you could not even place a picnic blanket or lawn chair if you wanted to use the park.
However, due to a wording oddity, the "school zone" enhancements for drug charges include areas around parks here. So, the entirety of both Champaign and Urbana have doubled all drug penalties due to placing unusable tiny parks everywhere. This means that the local privatized prison is guaranteed huge profits at all times with no risk of filling up with people who committed violent crimes whatsoever. Of course, despite being a college town (where I see plenty of pot smoking), almost every single person arrested and jailed for drugs is black.
The cost to taxpayers to foot the bill for this absurdity is simply staggering.Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
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Originally posted by Farkhanyassin View PostLove or Lust?
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