Quote:
Originally Posted by lagtight
Our " justice system" in general is a disgrace. At least 90% of people in jail/prison shouldn't be there, in my opinion.
With exception of certain drug offenses and a few other things, I don't know that the problem is criminalization of things that should be permitted. IMO, one of the main problems with the U.S. criminal justice system (among many) is that punishments for many crimes are far too long, and the prospects for successful reintegration into society after you are released from prison are very poor. The reintegration problem is threefold. First, the longer you are in prison, the more likely you are to be left behind in terms of job skills, especially given the utter lack of job training for prisoners in the U.S. Second, the U.S. economy has done a poor job of generating adequate paying jobs for unskilled or moderately skilled workers. Third, ex-cons are more highly stigmatized in the U.S. than they are in a lot of other countries. And that impacts job prospects, housing, and a million other things.
I assume that Victor would agree with all this.