By C1 Staff
Prison overcrowding is a descriptor that can be applied to most facilities in all of the 50 states. As legislators grapple with whether they should build new facilities, send inmates to this jail or that jail, or if our sentencing system needs retooling, we decided to see what frontline staff had to say regarding the issue.
Here are the 10 best responses we received to our poll on Facebook.
Jonathan Mays: Most people are there for non-violent marijuana charges. If we treated all drug issues like the disease that addiction is rather than punishable crime, we would have fewer criminals to put in jail and fewer repeat offenders.
Amy Ingram: We’ve reduced sentences in my state to the extent that releasing any more would mean putting child molesters back out on the streets (they are the least violent of who is left in our facilities). At some point, this society is going to have to come to grips with the reality that this way of life perpetuates violent crime. Our only true hope of impacting these numbers is to prevent it in the first place. Ignoring our systemic social problems to the point that human lives are ruined isn’t working for us, and it’s unsustainable.
Jeremy Vlahos: We need less petty crimes resulting in felonies and long sentences. Reserve prisons for real criminals, and find other means of punishing lesser crimes. We’ve been hurting the public and ignoring corporate crime, bankers, Wall Street, and politicians.
Stanley Hill: Only way to deal with overcrowding is to get the public and judges involved.
Ingrid A. Salinas: The more facilities we open the more criminals we will have. Right now crime is increasing dramatically around the world. It is imperative we go by the law when it comes to sentencing. A facility must have three meals, shelter and programs for those going through rehabilitation. We need to help these individuals change after they have done their time so they may go to their families. Small crimes like drugs can have a different punishment compared to a murderer. There are many options to offer like probation, house arrest, etc.
Juan G Carmona: Reopen psychiatric hospitals and send all mentally disordered inmates there.
Frank Hansard: Overcrowding is an issue in every state in this country. I believe a lot of the inmates in prison should be there. But there are also those that don’t. And I think we can blame that on our economy: There are no jobs for them and nowhere to live.
AZ Mark Hibs: How about we take a look at why we have so many people in those jails to begin with? Why are people so disenfranchised? Why in the U.S. do we have more people of our population in jail for non-violent crimes than any in the world? Why don’t we take a look at our justice system and our economic system first?
Jeffrey Christie: I used to think overcrowding was a necessary evil, but when you have 240 people in a building meant to house 190, and not enough bunks or bedrolls, you realize that jaywalking and possession under 20 grams could be solved with a NTA and a fine. Less fights that way too.
Jim Stephens: They are not getting rehabilitated. Gangs continue in the prisons and grow there also. Some gang leaders run things outside the prisons too. It’s all just a vicious circle.