Rodriguez for Congress campaign
Criminal Justice Reform
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[September 19, 2016]
Criminal Justice Reform Must Move
Beyond Era of Mass-Incarceration According to Rodriguez - Having
slightly less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but with
approximately 22 percent of the world’s incarcerated, the United
States has an urgent need to reform its criminal justice system.
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 The cumulative effects of retributive justice
practices, mandatory sentencing guidelines, and sundry practices
like “three strikes” provisions over the past generation have
overwhelmed our criminal court system and placed an untenable burden
on our prison system. With the average cost of incarceration per
inmate per year hovering just above $30,000, and in some states
double that figure, the cost to taxpayers at the local, state, and
federal levels has become staggering. Yes, we must do all that we
can to ensure public safety, but we must develop a system that is
cost-effective and outcomes-based—our current practices fail on both
of these points.
As a result of the “War on Drugs” that the nation launched in the
1970s, we have witnessed burgeoning numbers among the nation’s
incarcerated, many of whom are imprisoned for non-violent
drug-related offenses. This movement toward mass incarceration has
had a tremendously heavy toll upon African American and Hispanic
youth, and the societal impact upon broken families and broken
communities has been particularly devastating. Although we might pay
lip-service to the notion that the primary purpose of incarceration
is rehabilitation, our behavior as a society belies this point when
ex-felons find themselves shunned on the job market and void of any
real opportunities to start fresh when they are released. It should
surprise no one that the rate of recidivism among the ex-felon
population in the U.S. is staggeringly high.
 Along with the rising population of the incarcerated, we have
witnessed an expansion in the construction of new prisons across the
U.S. during the past generation. In many states this has been one of
the largest industrial growth sectors in recent years. Some states,
along with the federal government, have sought to outsource this
work to for-profit facilities that detractors have termed “the
prison-industrial complex,” and many decry what such a system
effectively says about our societal values. When we place a priority
upon the economic impact that a prison will have while ignoring the
societal cost that it entails, we have lost sight of the key issue
at stake.
As a society we must strive to support the use of corrective
measures short of incarceration in those situations when they are
applicable and most appropriate. We must increase support to
probation and parole officers and social workers who can be an
effective force in monitoring and mentoring those who need guidance
and direction in their lives. Key in this effort must also be a
renewed commitment to supporting efforts in working with youth
offenders. [to
top of second column] |
 An effective juvenile justice initiative can be key
to transforming lives of a future generation that might otherwise
find themselves pawns in a culture of incarceration that is utterly
destructive and crushes any real hope of opportunity. We must also
work to erase the stigma that is associated with having been an
ex-felon so that we can become a society that truly believes in
second chances. Criminal justice reform that is aimed
at reducing mass incarceration should not be viewed as an effort to
get “soft on crime.” Those who choose to commit violent offenses in
our society must always know that the full force and effect of the
U.S. legal and criminal justice systems will be used to bring them
to justice. We remain a nation of laws. The reforms that are
presented here are intended to make sure that the punishment fits
the crime in those cases where the courts can show a degree of
discretion. We have sufficient evidence to know that our current
system is ineffective and that it is burdensome on society at large.
Rooting criminal justice reform upon an outcomes-based approach
presents us with a real opportunity to address a societal need. If
done effectively, future generations might be spared from the
debilitating effects that a failed mass incarceration policy has
produced. [Text from file received] Past related
articles
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