40 Reasons Why Our Jails Are Full of Black and Poor People

[GhostlyJoe]

Yes there are far to many laws being written. Mandatory minimum sentencing in some cases discourages corruption in some cases, though judges might also be held to higher standards. Convicts can already integrate into society and there are many public and volunteer agencies that will help them.

Drugs were never a real problem in the first half of the last century. What changed? It seems to me, with the influence of Hollywood and the entertainment industry, that drugs became 'cool' and relatively harmless. perhaps allowing drugs for everyone might thin out the herd a little bit and put Darwin's Theory to the test. Of course the down side would mean Conservatives consistently being elected to public office.

I don;;t know what you mean by "meaningful representation". Court appointed attorneys won't do? It seems that people are already being held accountable when they abuse citizens.

I could break the Internet linking you to stories about corruption in the justice system. I already linked to this once today, but it's a good example. Many kids went before these two corrupt judges without any representation at all. In the Miami Gardens case I linked earlier in this thread, the person in question -- a mentally challenged man -- was coerced into pleading guilty dozens of times.

Often, people of any race accused of crimes face a kind of systemic bigotry that makes it more difficult for them to exonerate themselves without ample resources, so they end up taking a plea regardless of their actual guilt or innocence.

 

[Grant]

I care that it is discrimination and there is no justifying or ignoring that.

That's a noble sentiment but there are cities where minorities make up the majority of the police forces.

Unlike Ferguson’s, New York City’s police force is actually pretty diverse - Quartz

Most Baltimore Cops Are Minorities | The Daily Caller

Hw do we account for that?

 

[upsideguy]

There has to be a crime to begin with, right?

A criminal attorney friend of mine once stated ".... a conservative is liberal that was mugged; a liberal is a conservative that was charged with a crime..."

If you want ugly, look at our criminal justice system from the perspective of the charged. DA's offices are about convictions; not about justice. Our court system is about advocacy, not about truth. The theory is that truth is the logical consequence of debate amongst counsel, with clear burdens of proof. The reality is "truth" goes to the stronger attorney.

If you end up in their cross-hairs and do not have the resources to defend yourself with top counsel, you are going to be a conviction statistic.

 

[Grant]

I could break the Internet linking you to stories about corruption in the justice system.

Ne need. There is corruption among every group and though we can try to stamp it out ot will always be among us. Excusing politicians who lie suggests the public is somewhat okay with a certain amount of corruption if it suits their ideology.

Often, people of any race accused of crimes face a kind of systemic bigotry that makes it more difficult for them to exonerate themselves without ample resources, so they end up taking a plea regardless of their actual guilt or innocence.

That's true and quite sad, though it can happen among all people of the lower income classes.

 

[Grant]

A criminal attorney friend of mine once stated ".... a conservative is liberal that was mugged; a liberal is a conservative that was charged with a crime..." If you want ugly, look at our criminal justice system from the perspective of the charged. DA's offices are about convictions; not about justice. If you end up in their cross-hairs and do not have the resources to defend yourself with top counsel, you are going to be a conviction statistic.

'Plea Bargaining" has not helped the justice system.

 

[Kobie]

So, you don't have anything to say about any of the racial discrepancies listed?

If it doesn't affect well-off white folks, then there's no problem.

 

[GhostlyJoe]

Ne need. There is corruption among every group and though we can try to stamp it out ot will always be among us. Excusing politicians who lie suggests the public is somewhat okay with a certain amount of corruption if it suits their ideology.
That's true and quite sad, though it can happen among all people of the lower income classes.

I agree with both your statements.

 

[Kobie]

Go back to the beginning of your statement.

100 individuals commit a crime.

All the rest is **** that makes you feel better about yourself. We wont even bother going into how screwed up your statistics are because that is irrelevant.

Jesus Christ.

The big problem is that the crimes most people are incarcerated for shouldn't be crimes in the first place.

 

[Grant]

Jesus Christ.

The big problem is that the crimes most people are incarcerated for shouldn't be crimes in the first place.

"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time".

 

[VanceMack]

I care that it is discrimination and there is no justifying or ignoring that.

I agree. Start an aggressive campaign to get cops to ensure they are targeting all scumbags. Point out actual cases where they arent.

 

[Ryan5]

If anything we need significantly more people in prison.





In one sentence people are anti prison and the next day they go help send someone to life in prison on a jury. What you people should really be mad at is the American people. They keep sentencing people to life in prison!

 

[VanceMack]

Jesus Christ.

The big problem is that the crimes most people are incarcerated for shouldn't be crimes in the first place.

No. The biggest problem is that there are 1.2 million volent crimes committed every year.

I'm all for things like decriminalizing marijuana usage or at least offering non jail based sentencing alternatives.

And you can just call me JC for short. No need to be formal.

 

[Kobie]

"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time".

Poor people do the time far more often than not-poor people, because justice is a commodity in this country and the conservatives in this thread could not care less, mostly because they don't give a rat's ass about poor people.

Throw in a massive private prison lobby that basically bribes judges and lawmakers to send more poor people to their for-profit incarceration mills, and you have a generation of poor people who are branded as career criminals for smoking a joint, who can't get jobs when they get out, and often are turned into actual criminals by our horrendous prison system.

Nobody is suggesting that murderers, rapists and thieves don't belong in jail. But we have millions of non-violent drug offenders in our prisons who never belonged there, but are, because crime pays for some.

 

[Kobie]

No. The biggest problem is that there are 1.2 million volent crimes committed every year.

I'm all for things like decriminalizing marijuana usage or at least offering non jail based sentencing alternatives.

And you can just call me JC for short. No need to be formal.

The people who commit the violent crimes are the ones who belong in jail. Nobody is suggesting otherwise.

 

[Ryan5]

Poor people do the time far more often than not-poor people, because justice is a commodity in this country and the conservatives in this thread could not care less, mostly because they don't give a rat's ass about poor people.

Throw in a massive private prison lobby that basically bribes judges and lawmakers to send more poor people to their for-profit incarceration mills, and you have a generation of poor people who are branded as career criminals for smoking a joint, who can't get jobs when they get out, and often are turned into actual criminals by our horrendous prison system.

Nobody is suggesting that murderers, rapists and thieves don't belong in jail. But we have millions of non-violent drug offenders in our prisons who never belonged there, but are, because crime pays for some.

So why do juries full of poor Americans put other poor Americans accused of crimes in prison for life when those jurors know full well that will be the outcome?

 

[JoeTrumps]

the black community has the worst leadership of any minority group you can think of. they do nothing but inflame situations and grow rich off their "followers". I keep waiting for someone to step up with sound judgement who the black community will respect and listen to, but I have yet to see it happen.

 

[GhostlyJoe]

So why do juries full of poor Americans put other poor Americans accused of crimes in prison for life when those jurors know full well that will be the outcome?

More than 90% of criminal cases end in plea bargain. Jury trials are exceedingly rare (and costly). Financial pressure is one of the chief reasons people take a plea.

 

[Mycroft]

If someone is too scared to walk among the people they police then they need to quit or be fired. And find someone willing to wear that damn body cam and treat people with respect. Job Requirement number 1. If they dont have that they dont get the job.

Respect is a two-way street.

LiveLeak.com - Disrespectful Dickhead Flips The Bird To Polite Police Officer








Other countries don't have this kind of problem, though...



Step 1 - remove helmet
Step 2 - rotate victim to get better slap
Step 3 - outstretch slapping arm and go for it .... Ouch !

Info: The guy was a wanted criminal, and was finally caught, and started challenging the cop, saying that he would be back on streets in just a couple of days.

 

[pragmatic]

Mebbe they commit more crimes...??

 

[Kobie]

So why do juries full of poor Americans put other poor Americans accused of crimes in prison for life when those jurors know full well that will be the outcome?

The juries aren't "full of poor Americans." They're full of whoever the state thinks can bring a conviction. Many of these cases don't go to trial anyway.

 

[Born Free]

When a person is arrested they are constantly bombarded with people trying to convince, coerce, and intimidate them into pleading guilty. People who can afford good attorneys combat this because their attorney will shut all of that down. People who don't will have police interrogate them, tell them how much better it will be if they confess ect. Then the DA will tell you if you plead guilty you will only do 1 year, if it goes to trial you will get 5. (as an example). And in poverty you get assigned a public defender who in most cases wants to get it over with and encourages you to take the plea. (not all PD's but a lot do). If you do push to go to trial it becomes less about truth and more about winning. You have a DA with resources fighting to keep their W/L record and career in tact vs a PD who cannot invest many resources or much time into your case and most likely doesn't care what happens to you. I wonder who's gonna win that

Interesting, I never knew that all the people that are incarcerated plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit.

 

[dirtpoorchris]

Interesting, I never knew that all the people that are incarcerated plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit.

No but they will charge people a fee for public defender and sometimes the plea can seem cheaper.

 

[Ryan5]

More than 90% of criminal cases end in plea bargain. Jury trials are exceedingly rare (and costly). Financial pressure is one of the chief reasons people take a plea.

So why do local poor people elect judges to their districts and counties that promise to levy harsh sentences to criminals?

 

[Kobie]

So why do local poor people elect judges to their districts and counties that promise to levy harsh sentences to criminals?

Poor people aren't the only ones who vote.

 

[Objective Voice]

My father (RIP) use to say, "If you do the crime, you do the time".

That said, I think the list (though somewhat skewed towards New Yorkers) makes some valid points.

For some states and municipalities, crime IS big business particularly when committed by poor minorities (Blacks and Latinos). Parts of Birmingham, AL for example, were constructed largely from Black prison labor where many of the inmates were wrongfully imprisoned. The OP article correctly states that most of the short-term jail and prison sentences (24-36 months or less) are handed down to poor Black (young) men on minor drug charges. This article details how Black men in Texas were wrongfully imprisoned on false drug charges but were eventually pardoned.

The things addressed in the OP do happen. I, too, would like to believe that it's as simple as "do the crime, do the time" but our system of justice doesn't always play from a fair or just rule book.