Criminal Justice

I think that the criminal justice system in this country is outrageous and morally wrong. To put people into prisons in which they are stripped of their humanity, are constantly in danger of assault and even rape, are under complete control of unaccountable guards and wardens with vast powers to abuse and humiliate them, and have nobody to listen to them about these problems is tantamount to torture and is a crime against humanity. I honestly do not see how society can turn a blind eye on the vicious circumstances we are putting our own citizens in, in the name of "justice."

But me ranting about prisons isn't the assignment. I have a few thoughts about how we should treat certain types of criminals that differ from the way we treat them now. First of all, drug use shouldn't be a crime. Drug use is a medical problem, not a criminal problem. There is nothing about using drugs that harms others such that drug users should be put in jail. Portugal has had all drugs decriminalized for over a decade now, with pretty good results, and almost as importantly, much cheaper results. Because they treat addiction with medically accepted treatments instead of just throwing someone into a building with a bunch of other addicts and criminals, they have seen a reduction in drug addiction, and reduced costs in drug prosecution. In addition, I think marijuana should be completely legal and regulated, like alcohol and tobacco, because it is less dangerous than alcohol, and less addictive and unhealthy than either alcohol or tobacco.

The next type of criminal that I think should be treated differently is really anyone who commits any other non-violent crime. These people should not be put in jail. They are not a danger to anyone. Someone who commits fraud should have an easily accessible record that states that they are a known fraudster, and that should appear on their credit report, for a certain period of time. They should have to pay economically for that crime, through fines and damages and such. There is no reason they should be put in pens and walled off as if they might shoot somebody at any moment. Any white-collar crime or financial-related crime should be handled this way. There is no reason Bernie Madoff should be in jail, except that a lot of people are really mad at him, and they want him to be in jail to make themselves feel better. Non-violent offenders should really be put on probation, made to repay any damages they caused to whatever party they hurt (if there is one), and provided with court-mandated counseling to get at the real problems behind why they committed whatever crime they did. In addition, I think that instead of taking these people away from society and a job, they should be given opportunities to do some sort of work if they don't already have it. They should be shown what opportunities are out there for them so they can do something that isn't whatever crime they were doing before.

Now, violent criminals. Some of them are minor criminals, and I think minor assault charges are generally handled well. They are made to take anger management classes or go to a therapist and sent on their way. But as for major violent criminals, these people really should be separated from society, because they are scary. This does not mean lock them up and stop caring about what happens to them after that. They should be monitored heavily, and rehabilitated. That means giving them psychological treatment for anger issues or whatever problems have led them to become violent. There should be measures taken to prevent prison gangs. They should be protected, and feel as safe as they can be made to feel. In any and all prisons and jails there should be a way for inmates to report mistreatment or crimes against them to figures outside the jail in a way that will actually lead to action. People in jail are still citizens, and they deserve rights too. The fact that they aren't afforded any rights is cruel and unusual, making it unconstitutional in my opinion.