One out of every 100 Americans is in jail or prison... why? what can be done?
By whiteheron
@whiteheron (4222)
United States
April 1, 2008 4:10am CST
I just read an advertisement for the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club that gave some startling statistics: One out of every 100 Americans is in jail or prison and one out of every 15 black people is in jail or prison.... The United States apparently, according to the ad, has more people imprisoned than any other nation in the world.
Wondering though why this is and what can we do to decrease the incidence of crime and the need for imprisonment of our citizens?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@maliki2 (255)
• United States
30 Apr 08
I think alot has to do with the current environment. People just don't care about people anymore. There is no respect, we have younger kids, who want everything and don't want to work for it. I think tougher jail terms would make a world of difference. When a person murders another person and gets out in like 10 years, what kind of lesson are you teaching people? I think our court system has alot to do with this.
@whiteheron (4222)
• United States
1 May 08
I think you bring up something good when you say that children want something for nothing... as often the adults are not correcting this behavior so the kids expect things that do not get delivered to them and take them...
I am not sure that longer sentences are a deterrent for most crimes like murder, etc. as it seems that a lot of them are crimes of passion or greed and that those who commit them might not think too much about the consquences...
I would think that those who have a habit of driving drunk and those who have committed more than one assualt or murder, should surely be put away longer.
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
11 Apr 08
First thing to realize is the fact that NOT all ppl in prison are bad ppl...Some jsut had such horrid lives crime was the only way to survive..that IS partly the blame of the country...IF the government and the ppl did more to help out the poor and needy that would be a good start...ALSO you have to remember that NOT all ppl who are serving time should be there..there are NUMEROUS ppl who've been wrongly convicted....
@whiteheron (4222)
• United States
13 Apr 08
Actually... I would be more likely to say that there are no "bad people" there as, to me, it is not the people who are bad but the actions that some have done that are bad.
I know that there are many who acted out of fear and the desire to survive... And I agree, the poor should be helped out more. It is criminal, to me, that there are so many hungry, homeless and poor people living in America especially when so much money going to people who should not be getting it and into a war that we should never have gotten into in the first place.
I know that there are many people who have been wrongly convicted as there are still some police officers who plant evidence, and public defenders who tell their innocent clients to plea bargain because they do not want to bother defending them due to the fact that they are so understaffed in that office and so underfunded.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
11 Apr 08
The obvious solution is to take responsibility for your actions and not to blame it on society. They cannot say,in the case of the Blacks, that because their ancestors were slaves, everyone has to take care of them and the rest of the States (or their girlfriends) owe them a living. The others like the white people have to stop thinking that the end justifies the means, that finders keepers, losers weepers, and all have to get over the idea that violence justifies. But the most important is that those who are in jail have disregarded God's law, as stated in the Ten Commandments that it is wrong to kill, steal, etc.
Once they start to think it is wrong to hurt anyone, or take something that does not belong to you, then there will be less people in jail. It is just that there are inordinate people who believe that they can do anything they want and get away with it. Except in cases of mistaken identity or those who are there for political or moral stance (as in the case of preachers and old ladies thrown in jail because they say homosexuality and killing unborn babies are wrong) as to who it really was, most of the people in jail are there because they deserve to be.
@whiteheron (4222)
• United States
11 Apr 08
You are quite right in what you say... although I must admit I still am left wondering what to do about it... You anser on a personal stance about accountablity and responsibility which is definately needed. Yet there is also something about society in that it breeds the kind of behaviors and thinking that cause crimes to occur.
I think perhaps we need to look at the root causes of the problem which I believe are: poverty, anger, lack of effective parental supervision,lack of good educational and job opportunities and also chemical dependency.
@whiteheron (4222)
• United States
2 Apr 08
That is a good thing for us all to do... How do we make it so that more people follow the law?
