1 of 79

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

year, with 1 in 4 black men aged 20-29 being in prison. While it's easy to explain this uneven incarceration rate by saying black people simply commit more crimes, an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) report, backed by evidence from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, claimed that in 2001, while 13% of those who admitted to monthly drug use were black, blacks made up a staggering 74% of those sent to prison for drug possession. In an fair system, these percentages should be about equal.

The drug war is the major reason for our high imprisonment rates. Nonviolent offenders are two thirds of the prison population, many of them incarcerated for drug crimes. Sending a drug addict to a federal or state penitentiary costs $25,900 per year while giving him or her treatment can cost as little as $4400 annually (ACLU). Treating an addict's serious mental disorders, which 1 in 3 of them have, is important according to Charles Curie, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Curie claims that "if these inmates recover from the disorders, they're unlikely to repeat crimes." This means less repeat offenders and help for those who need it, yet the government insists on simply throwing addicts in prison at a higher cost to the taxpayer.

Harsh sentencing, brought on in large part by the drug war's mandatory minimum sentences and unfair punishments, is another reason for our overcrowded prisons. In 1975, an average drug offender would spend about 3 1/2 years in jail. This number increases nearly every year up to 1995, when drug convictions carried a 7 1/2 year sentence on average.

Regardless of whether the drug problem in America should be solved as a law enforcement or a public health issue, it is clear that the punishments involved with drug crimes are unjust. A report by the California Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (CA NORML) tells the story of Bryan Epis, a man who learned the hard way that sentencing has become too harsh. After a voter-approved law in the state allowed marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes, Epis started a crop of 458 plants for him and his patients after being given permission by Judge David Garcia. As a father of an 8-year-old girl and having no prior criminal convictions, he was arrested in June 1997 and sentenced to a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison. At his trial in federal court, his attorney was restricted from discussing the state's medical marijuana laws or that Epis was growing for his patients. Using the ACLU's statistics, we can estimate that the Epis case will cost taxpayers $259,000 in prison fees alone.

The United States judicial system is in dire need of change. With a ridiculous number of Americans in prison, it is becoming increasingly clear that the problem is not soaring crime rates, but lengthy sentences and fruitless laws. Our desire to keep the streets safe has reached a point where we are, as Benjamin Franklin warned against, sacrificing liberty for security.

Learn more about this author, Chris Swanicke.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Critique of America's justice system?
We want to hear your view. Write now!