Debt to Society

The other day, a companion and I watched a news story about how someone had broken particular laws, causing financial injury to several people.  My companion immediately proclaimed that the perpetrator needed to be locked up.  I objected. Why should we taxpayers foot the bill to lock this person up? I’d rather the perpetrator repay the people he harmed and also render a public good to society in retribution for his crimes.  I think we lock up way too many people and I think there is a better way to exact justice. Our answer to drug abuse, mental illness, and non-violent crimes can and should be better than just locking people up.  I’d like to see us reserve prison time for violent criminals who pose a danger to society.    I’m all for locking up murderers, rapists, child molesters, human traffickers, physical assailants, and people who use a weapon to commit their crimes.  But drug addicts need treatment, not jail.  People with mental illness need medical attention, not jail.  And people who lie, steal, and cheat should make restitution by repaying society and their victims in both time and treasure.  I’m for making victims whole as much as is possible.  I’m for an expanded use of education and community service as rehabilitation for non-violent offenders.

We should all be outraged that the data shows that black, brown and poor people are more likely to be stopped or singled out for potential crimes by police.  This week, it was appalling to learn of two separate incidents where Baltimore police planted drugs on citizens they were searching.  My son and his new wife just moved to Baltimore!  I pray for his safety as a black male every day.  He has to be careful of gangs and the police.

The poor, black and brown, are also more likely to be convicted of crimes once accused since many can’t afford adequate legal representation, and then they receive tougher sentences than their wealthier and white counterparts.   These are well documented facts that continue to persist and I fear will only get worse under Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration.  Bryan  Stevenson wrote an excellent book about his experiences as a defense attorney called, “Just Mercy”.

In the land of the free,  it is absurd that our nation imprisons more people than any other country in the world.  According to the Washington Post (2015), the U.S. makes up 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of those in prison worldwide.  And guess what,  we are enabling this atrocity with our hard-earned tax dollars.  Instead of using out tax dollars to pay for needed  healthcare and education, we use too much of it to support this unethical system.  We have poor people pleading guilty to erroneous crimes because they are threatened with incredibly long sentences for charges that they have little hope of defending themselves against.  Last season, “60 Minutes” broadcasted a story about the overburdened, underfunded, and frustrating work of public defenders offices across the country.  The constitutional right to a defense has become no real defense at all if you are poor.

When these people leave prison, they have little hope of going to school, as they are no longer eligible for government grants.  In some states, they have lost their right to vote.  They have a difficult time finding good jobs because they are considered convicts.  And now, we have provided a financial incentive to keep a steady flow of prisoners in the pipeline with privatization.  Shame on us!

The time is now to write our state representatives about the need to revise our criminal justice system.  We need to get rid of mandatory minimums and we must give judges the ability to enforce restitution (not prison) for non-violent crimes.  Instead,  sentences could include drug or alcohol rehabilitation,  education, community service, and repayment to victims.  And no private prisons that depend on having prisoners to make money.   In addition, we need better anti-bias training for our police and better funding for our public defender offices.  When we get this stuff right, then I’ll feel a lot more sincere when I cover my heart and recite the words in the Pledge of Allegiance that proclaim us to be a nation, “with liberty and justice for all”.