True prison reform is getting rid of prisons: the new responsibility-based law system

25. April 2010 by admin.

Almost every American is aware that our prison system needs to be reformed, but it seems that nobody has a viable solution.  To understand the immensity of the problem we’re facing, consider these four major issues:

#1: Prisons are too expensive

In 2009, Reuters reported that imprisonment costs Americans $29,000 per prisoner (more than my wages last year), and 51.7 billion total on corrections (including local jails, probation, parole).

#2: High rates of recidivism

A 2002 Bureau of Justice Statistics study showed that after three years, 67.5% of prisoners were arrested after release, and 51.8% were back in prison.  So our prison system isn’t reforming the overwhelming majority of criminals.

#3: A criminal’s ability to blend in allows them to strike again, or to breed

Without a way to recognize criminals, they can strike again after leaving prison.  And they leave unfathered children all over our states, contributing to neighborhood poverty and crime. Read the rest of this entry »

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