08-18-2016, 06:37 PM
RgrF wrote:
fauch is absolutely correct. For a country like the US to have such a disproportionate percentage of its population behind bars is not just a disgrace but shows the extreme indifference of the electorate and its elected officials......
Quite the opposite. Voters chose 'tough on crime' candidates in droves in the 80's and beyond. It can now be reasonably argued that the huge prison population has to do with the 'war on drugs'. For example- 46.3% of the population comes from 'drug offenses'. The gun offenses are often also related to the drug trade / use. That's another 16.9%.
https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/sta...fenses.jsp
That's right. Legalizing ALL drugs and retroactively pardoning all prisoners convicted of drug offenses will cut the US prison population in HALF.