US Politics Mega-thread - Page 1185

On July 22 2014 10:45 IgnE wrote:


http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/gaming_the_system.pdf

Private prisons writing up and lobbying for lengthier prison sentences and three-strikes laws.

Morrell was one of the sponsors of the marijuana sentencing reform bill that failed in Baton Rouge. He says one of the benefits of that reform would have been a reduction in the power of prosecutors to, as Louisiana courthouse slang puts it, "bitch" a defendant. A reference to Louisiana's habitual offender law, it refers to a DA threatening to use past convictions — often for marijuana possession — to multiply the length of a defendant's potential sentence.

But what Morrell sees as a problem, prosecutors regard as a necessary tool. That's because many states are now considering similar reductions to mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, and Congress is considering a similar move for federal drug charges.

On July 22 2014 10:57 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

States Push For Prison Sentence Overhaul; Prosecutors Push Back

Prosecutors want to keep strict sentencing so they can "bitch" defendants.

On July 22 2014 10:57 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

States Push For Prison Sentence Overhaul; Prosecutors Push Back

Prosecutors want to keep strict sentencing so they can "bitch" defendants.

John de Rosier, the district attorney of Calcasieu Parish, La., says "we have people all the time that we know have been involved in robberies, rapes and murders. We haven't been able to prove our cases, but we're in court with them for second-offense possession of marijuana. What do you think we're going to do?"

That's commonly referred to as "prosecutorial discretion," and it's an argument that alarms sentencing reformers like Morrell.

"That level of discretion ought to be terrifying to people," Morrell says. "If you cannot convict someone of a murder, of a robbery, whatever, the fact that you have a disproportionate backup charge to convict them anyway kind of defeats the purpose of due process."

Nobody knows this better than Lisa Ladd, whose 27-year-old son, Corey, is now serving a 20-year sentence for his conviction for third-offense marijuana possession. He was arrested with a half-ounce. Ladd seems dumbfounded by what's happened to Corey.

"He broke the law; he does deserve some sort of punishment," she says. "But 20 years? The scales of justice are just so way off balance. They really are."

Now she's raising her imprisoned son's infant daughter.

A federal appeals court dealt a major blow to Obamacare on Tuesday, saying that millions of Americans cannot get subsidies to help pay for their health insurance through HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange serving most of the country. The court said those subsidies can only be given through the state-run exchanges..
In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that the IRS had incorrectly allowed people to get subsidized through the federal exchange. It did not order the subsidies stopped immediately, recognizing that the Obama administration will appeal.

On July 23 2014 01:03 farvacola wrote:

Yes, two of the largest prison organizations, the Geo group and the CCA, are publicly traded and actually include the supposed benefit of "high recidivism" in their investor prospecti. No joke.

On July 23 2014 01:33 ticklishmusic wrote:


I am a bad person for investing in those companies. But it helps pay for college. :<

On July 23 2014 01:39 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:


Yes, you are a bad person.I'm sure many a people went to college on the backs of slaves in the 1800's as well. Which Private Prisons has replaced.

On July 23 2014 01:03 farvacola wrote:

Yes, two of the largest prison organizations, the Geo group and the CCA, are publicly traded and actually include the supposed benefit of "high recidivism" in their investor prospecti. No joke.

On July 23 2014 01:39 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:


Yes, you are a bad person.I'm sure many a people went to college on the backs of slaves in the 1800's as well. Which Private Prisons has replaced.

On July 23 2014 02:11 Liquid`Drone wrote:
what's the real problem in this case? I mean from my perspective it'd be draconian drug laws combined with a culture of wealth-glorification combined with gross systematic inequality making crime the only perceivably realistic way for many to have a shot at achieving the american dream and thus a feeling of self worth combined with your population having a particularly vengeful mindset, but I'm not sure you agree with my analysis nor with all of that being problematic.

for what it's worth though I agree that if those factors were fixed private prisons would not by themselves be problematic - private rehabilitation centers don't strike me as particularly problematic and some prisons could certainly be that.