You've heard it a million times. The phrase, Does the punishment fit the crime is very appropriate when determining whether society should rehabilitate, or punish criminals. Statistics show that most criminals who serve an extended period of time become institutionalized, incapable of re-entering society in a normal fashion. Many of these criminals are drug offenders. It is a fact that many prisoners are serving time for crimes they did not commit, and others have received sentences that are unjust according to the crimes committed.
Why does the government allow this to happen? The answer is simple. Prison is big business. Prison labor has its roots in slavery. After the 1861-1865 Civil War, a system of "hiring out prisoners" was introduced in order to continue the slavery tradition. Freed slaves were charged with not carrying out their sharecropping commitments (cultivating someone else's land in exchange for part of the harvest) or petty thievery which were almost never proven and were then hired for cotton picking, working in mines and building railroads.
From 1870 until 1910 in the state of Georgia, 88% of hired-out convicts were Black. In Alabama, 93% of "hired-out" miners were Black. In Mississippi, a huge prison farm similar to the old slave plantations replaced the system of hiring out convicts. (Patrickcrusade.org, 2009)
Prison labor is cheap, and racism still exists in many indistinguishable forms. The government gets away with this current form of prison slavery because, plain and simple, no one cares about criminals. It is assumed that if one is in prison, they are there due to an unlawful act committed.
While many folks are incarcerated for proven crimes, there are many documented wrongful arrests and unjustly harsh sentences that go unchecked. Minorities experience the most hardship from unjust prison sentences, yet these are some of the most resourceful individuals on the face of the planet.
If given other opportunities to make a real living, one has to know that these same resourceful individuals could potentially rise to extreme power. This poses a threat to many who are a part of the majority, and the majority rules.
Why put drugs in the urban communities if they can't be sold freely? It's called the Barter System, a system developed for the exchange of goods and services. This system has been in existence since the 19th century, a time when drugs were legal. Instead of being held in high regard, many are shamed for utilizing this very important piece of American history.
It's also no coincidence that many big time drug dealers have a steady supply of product that comes from people who don't resemble them. If minorities are incarcerated in record numbers for drug offenses, what about the suppliers? The suppliers evade prosecution because the drug trade has a direct link to the increase in prisoners, and the US prison structure as a whole. Again, prison is big business.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the facts, facts don't lie. We've been down the road of slavery, and the injustices caused by the powers that be, more times than one can count. How can we fix the problem? Adjusting the sentencing scale for violent offenses versus drug related offenses is an excellent start.
Counseling does not help a truly insane person. So why does America allow the insane to become exonerated from terrible crimes, via discharges into mental facilities, as opposed to jail time. Yet a minority drug offender, who may not have killed anyone, can expect to receive a life sentence for possessing a little too much cocaine.
Providing rehabilitation is a much more viable means of fixing America's prison structure. Proper rehabilitation will provide marketable skills training while incarcerated, and sociology courses to prepare one's mind for the real world. Upon exit there should be a list of companies willing to accept these former inmates into their fold.
Companies such as IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft and AT&T willingly contract prison laborers for menial labor while incarcerated. So why is it that if the same person applies for a job once free, regardless of credentials, they are denied employment by these same companies? Skills mean absolutely nothing, if one is never allowed to compete.
For already enterprising individuals such as drug offenders, a proper rehabilitation program will provide a viable means for these people to support themselves, and their families. After all, prisoners are people too.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/institutionalize
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/26/48hours/ma in570187.shtml
http://www.patrickcrusade.org/prison_industry_in_USA .html