Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSquealer
But i think this is already acknowledged as a huge problem in the system and obviously things have to change as mandatory sentencing and taking the power out of judges hands to use their own discretion has put everyone in these positions. I don't see building more prisons to separate non violent and violent offenders as being an answer to the problem of too many people in prison to begin with.
And it seriously is not fair to say that low level drug offenders are treated as murderers. There are minimum security prisons, medium security prisons, maximum security prisons and supermax prisons with people being also separated within those systems. It's not accurate to say everyone is treated the same.
|
You must have never been in the system. I was 25 months, for $300 worth of drugs. Due to overcrowding, spent the 1st month in the county jail in a 32 man cell. Several of the guys were murderers. Others were in for violent crimes. The next few months were in intake. Again all were lumped into the same dorms. At least 1/2 were there on drug charges. But for a couple of days shared a cell with a 19 year-old who shot and killed a fast food manager while trying to make his bank deposit. I then watched him slice up his arm in a suicide attempt. The guards were underpaid so they earned extra smuggling in contraband. One dorm you could cut the pot smoke with a knife it was so thick. I was always rated minimum custody, but spent months in Max or medium. hell we were so overcrowded they sent some of us to the women's prison. The bikers decided I needed a girlfriend so they fixed me up with a 20 year old girl who was doing double life for felony kidnap and murder.