by Simonne Liberty

Created on: July 07, 2009   Last Updated: July 21, 2009

Every citizen in this country has at one time, or more, committed a non-violent crime. If we lock up everyone who smokes pot, or eats a grape while shopping, we may as well all turn ourselves in.

People are getting arrested for non-violent, and non-intentional crimes. A woman was jailed for not returning a library book in time. It is the taxpayer who is picking up the bill for on going non-violent incarcerations. What is it proving? Men who fail to pay child support, are going to jail for 3 or 4 years. These men lose jobs, have their drivers license taken away, lose their homes, and come out of jail with a prison record.

As a "felon", they are marked for life. This prevents them from getting an apartment, or a job, to pay the back support. This kind of punishment costs the taxpayer over $100,000.00 or more, to punish one man. The children get nothing, and everyone loses, except the justice system. The man is used to gain profits from taxpayers, to pay the officers of the court. This is not justice. This is corruption allowed to fester, in the name of justice.

We see in the news everyday, where people are being convicted of crimes that are totally ridiculous. In Dayton Ohio, a man was arrested, jailed and convicted of a "sex crime," for "having sex with a picnic table." He was drunk. People who get drunk, do some outrageous things. Most people do not get caught at it.

This type of foolishness is not even reported in most cases. Most people realize that stupid actions of those who are drunk, is simply caused by the effects of the alcohol. It is an altogether different matter if the effect of alcohol leads to a violent crime.

Police have more unsolved murders, than solved ones, yet they spend their time harassing the poor, and filling quotas to fill the jails with nonviolent suspects. The crimes of loitering, trespassing, having an open container in public, jay walking, and riding a bike on a deserted side walk, are the kind of criminals filling our jails.

The push to "curb crime," has led to inventing what is a crime, to appease citizens, to make citizens believe the police are doing their jobs. The real criminals roam free while the poor who have no defense, are used as scape goats. The jails, and prisons, are half full of the mentally ill. They act out by disturbing the peace, or urinate in public.

These people have no treatment centers, or group homes to go to. They lack common sense, and are not even aware, that they are breaking societies rules, with their bazaar behaviors. They harm no one, yet they fill our jails, and prisons. Is this justice?

No. People who are convicted of non-violent crimes, that have been made mountains, out of mole hills, should not go to jail as punishment. It serves no purpose. There are far too many alternatives, to help these people learn from their poor judgments..

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