Issue Position: Prisons and Justice

Issue Position

The United States of America has a higher percentage, and a greater number of its citizens in prison than any other nation on Earth, including those that we officially label as "repressive." Are we truly expected to believe that "the greatest nation of Earth" is home to the most criminal population on the planet? If not, why are so many incarcerated? And if incarceration is an effective response to criminality, why do the rest of us not have the highest standard of living and the safest neighborhoods in the world? (in case you were not aware, we don't)

Prisons are not a place where any meaningful rehabilitation is occurring. When comparing private "for profit" prisons against "public" institutions, the clear majority of studies demonstrate that public prisons are more economical and actually produce somewhat better results.

The most disturbing revelation concerning our justice and penal systems, is the failings of the judicial process. "The Innocence Project," with very limited resources and addressing only cases directly dependent on DNA evidence, has established a shocking history of wrongful convictions. Not only have those convictions caused the imprisonment of innocent people, they have allowed those guilty of some of the most heinous crimes to remain free to violate again.
We should all be committed to greater justice and better outcomes.
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Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear.

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