Above is a video from The Onion called "Judge Rules White Girl Will be Charged as Black Adult". Although this is a sytrical video, nota bene- the jury is told to assume that the girl is guilty, the jury was replaced by a single drug addict, etc. Well done, Onion- there is so much to learn from this sytrical clip.
And then, to what extent are the people who are imprisonated today actually guilty? According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2,266,800 adults were incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and 4,814,200 were on probation or parole at the end of 2011. This means that about 2.9 percent of the U.S. adult population were either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. It seems hard to believe that 3 percent of the population is guilty of a crime. Either that, or we're living in a very crime-heavy, dangerous society. However, if you look at the facts, it seems as though the United States is putting people in jail for crimes that could potentially be solved in another way, such as community service, support groups, a fine, etc.
The above image shows the number of inmates in federal prison by offense in 2012. Drug useage and possession is #1 marginally- more than three times as many people were imprisoners for drug-related crimes than for weapons and arson. Drug useage and possession is a very serious problem, and by no means am I trying to justify it, but it is a nonviolent offense than could potentially be solved in many other ways. Do we as a society assume that people are guilty, and imprison more people than need be because of this?
I agree that drug usage could be solved in a different way, and it should be. Those who have a drug problem need help from rehab, not to be punished in jail. There are some people who have a biological tendency towards addiction, and need extra attention. The government should focus on rehabilitating American citizens with a drug problem, so they can reenter society, not lock them up and try to forget about them.
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