In America, when accused of committing a crime, the old saying is wrong. You aren't innocent until proven guilty – you are guilty until proven innocent.
I can tell you right now that I am not an angel by any means, even though my mother always calls me one. I've done some pretty stupid things in my life. From stealing a Pokémon card out of a magazine at a Tops Markets near my house years ago to… other things on the bad side of the law, I have been a naughty little boy.
Sorry, Mom.
Nonetheless, this country has a serious problem. Criminals are incarcerated like it isn't a big deal.
But it is.
Many people deserve to rot in prison – rapists, murderers, assaulters, and so forth. Do you see the trend? They are violent.
Thieves, drug dealers, traffic violators and other non-violent offenders are wasting valuable spaces in prisons, and in turn, causing a ridiculous amount of money to go down the tube every minute.
According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the United States holds 715 prisoners for every 100,000 of its citizens. Russia, the closest country to the United States, houses 584 prisoners for every 100,000 citizens. Countries like Australia and Canada hold a measly 116 prisoners for every 100,000 of their respective citizens.
Those numbers speak for themselves.
With penitentiaries and other correctional facilities overflowing with inmates – especially when 50 percent of the entire incarcerated population are nonviolent offenders – the United States could easily fix these pressing, and costly, issues.
Why should nonviolent drug users rot in prison when they can simply be given treatment? As author Vince Beiser said, 'Drug abuse should be considered a matter of public health, not criminal justice.'
The government could create a review board to decide the proper course of action in each case – whether that means putting the criminal into jail, simply fining the individual or providing any necessary treatment. This would save local, state and federal governments a considerable amount of money in these tough economic times.
States like California are getting the hint. It mandates treatment, rather than imprisonment, for certain offenses, which is saving the government a great deal of money.
And anyway, would you want a pickpocket who snatched a wallet to make ends meet sitting in a cell next to someone who raped and murdered 14 women? Do you want him learning even worse criminal tactics as he sits in a corrections facility for such a petty crime?
Not at all. That's what community service and fines are for.
The idea is simple. Its implementation isn't that hard, either. But the fact that nonviolent and petty criminals are rotting away in prison with people who belong there is disgraceful. The fact that each prisoner currently costs taxpayers $22,000 per year is even worse.
Saving money. Bettering our communities. Bettering our brothers and sisters.
What's the harm in that?
E-mail: stephen.marth@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
