1 in 32 American adults are under some sort of supervision by the US prison system

[lildreamer316]

as of 12 months ago
According to a report quoted in this post here:
http://www.democraticunderground/dis.comcuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2985726#2985841

This just boggles my mind.
So, now it's going to be that employers are not going to be able to be as choosy about no criminal record if they want to hire someone.
It just.....changes everything.
(btw husband is doing his weekly day in jail today; this really hit home).
Nobody should be judging others so harshly anymore. Our broken legal system is really starting to show its' fruits. (pucntuation-sorry)
Wow. Just friggin' wow.

[kay1864]

1. Corrected link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2985726#2985841

Original article cited: http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/3561

Bureau of Justice Statistics page the data came from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/p05.htm

:hi:

[lildreamer316]

4. Sorry and thank you.

Smack me later.... ;)

[kay1864]

5. Heck, why wait?

:spank:

We Loungers aim to please... :hi:

[Deja Q]

2. Judging by the offshoring going on, I doubt they'll have little to bother about.

:evilfrown:

[In_The_Wind]

3. It's a great time NOT to be a 1%er!

:hi:

[KamaAina]

6. 1 of 12 young black men are IN PRISON

this does NOT count those on probation or parole!

Expressed in terms of percentages, 8.1% of black males age 25 to 29 were in prison on December 31, 2005, compared to 2.6% of Hispanic males and about 1.1% of white males in the same age group.

Justice is blind, remember, :sarcasm: so it must have some other way of singling out black people. :grr:

edit: spacing

[lildreamer316]

7. Isn't that the truth.

Now that it's happening more and more; and more white people are getting caught up in it; it's finally getting more attention.
Go figure.
Never a better time than to understand the need to end the drug war.
Do you think it will ever happen?

[Ariana Celeste]

9. Re: drug war

My SO and I were recently arrested and had to spend a couple of nights in the local jail. The place was so overcrowded, and the majority of them were in there for drug offenses (including the two of us). Many of them were in need of rehabilitation and treatment, not incarceration. Many were in there for possession of pot.

Even if I was only in jail for a couple of nights (and I may have to go back, depending on what kind of magic my lawyer can work) it seriously opened my eyes. It ain't like what you see on TV, you know? It's not all a bunch of hardcore criminals. Most of them are in for victimless crimes and many of them need help.

[lildreamer316]

10. My husband

spends one day in jail a week right now (until it totals 30 days) for his second DUI offense. As much as I love him; I do not disagree with this sentence at all--he is battling demons; but he needed to find a more constructive and less dangerous way to deal with them.I believe many people who drive drunk need to get the shit scared outta them to get a grip before they kill someone (or themselves). However; I have several friends who have been in trouble for drug offenses (no one is suprised because I'm a stripper; but most people don't realize it's just as prevalant in "regular" society). None of these people deserve to be in jail. I myself have a penchant for a particular thing-and this has led me to beleive fervently that the "war" must be stopped.
I hope to see some progress toward common sense in my lifetime.

Best of luck to you and your SO. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[Ariana Celeste]

13. I agree with you, re: drunk driving

My older brother, and my dad, both died in car accidents. Both of them were under the influence when the accidents happened. Fortunately they didn't kill or even injure anyone else- aside from the pain caused to our family. I guess some people just don't even think about it when they are drinking. Personally I make it a point to only get drunk in my own home, or at a place I know I can crash. Alcoholism is a tough demon to beat- I'm not assuming your husband is an alcoholic, but I know my dad and brother were. I hope, not just for your husbands sake but for yours as well, that he conquers his demons. It's really really tough. I also hope that you two have a strong support network, because that is very important.

When I became an adult, and left the nest- I was shocked at how easy it is to come across drugs, and how they weren't as 'bad' as I was taught they were. Drugs are everywhere, in poor neighborhoods and middle class suburbia alike. Rural towns and big cities. The thing I think a lot of people tend to ignore is that many of the behaviors of addicts are not there because of the drug, it's because of the addiction. And without the drugs, they will just get new addictions. You know? Food, religion, cigarettes, sex, alcohol, tv, whatever. You can get addicted to anything, and all adictions have harmful effects, not just drug addiction.

We need to battle addiction, not drug use. The majority of drug users go about their lives just as everyone else does.

Good luck to you, too, and thanks. :) :hug:

[skygazer]

8. Well, there's no justice because my ex isn't one of them

Seriously, though, that's an insane statistic. Obviously, the only solution is to build more prisons. :sarcasm:

[pitohui]

11. it doesn't change anything

they'll just hire that illegal immigrant from mexico like they do already

certainly more than 1 in 32 adults that i know are long term unable to get "real" jobs and i am not talking about people who have committed or been convicted of any crime

so i wouldn't get my hopes up, i'm sorry to say, don't know what to tell you

"they" don't care if 1 in 32 people or if 1 in 10 people for that matter don't have jobs, i'm pretty sure in the 50s almost no women had any decent jobs or such a tiny proportion as to make no difference and that's 52% of adults right there

[fizzgig]

12. it's disgusting how much of my state's budget goes to corrections

i know that if they just took some of the money out of corrections and put it toward mental health and substance abuse support and treatment programs it would fix part of the overcrowding problem but it'll never happen because there's so much profit to be made :grr:

/end horribly long run-on sentence

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

14. That sucks... why is he in jail? (It's OK if you don't want to disclose the specifics)