The mess we call The Federal Prison System!

           The federal prisons are becoming more and more crowded as the years go by and has gotten especially out of control in the last 5 years.  This is concerning for many reasons and needs to be dealt with accordingly.  First, this is a safety issue for the inmates and the guards as they are all right on top of each other, tensions are high, and the guards are highly outnumbered even more-so than regularly.  This also leaves far less room for "personal space" which human nature naturally requires and causes for frustrations and feelings of invasions of space and privacy, thus leading to fights and often worse.  Not to mention the fire hazard this imposes on the whole facility if it is overcrowded, as many are putting 2&3 inmates in one man cells and common areas which were never meant or intended to be used for housing of inmates.

            If the prisons continue to increase the population overgrowth without an appropriate increase in budget to support and properly house, feed and care for the inmates there will be no funds left for reform.  This will soon cut into the budget for classes and education that is offered to offenders while incarcerated so that they can get out and have hope for a straight and promising life off the streets that got them there in the first place.  Prison is supposed to be used for reform and to help people to get their lives together and it can work because I have seen it personally!  As beautifully stated in the Huffington Post, “People are going to recidivate more when they get out of horrendous conditions without job training and development programs to get their lives back together.”  Which by the way, you should definitely check that article out because the funny thing is that they basically back up everything that I just said up until that point and I hadn't even found it until then.  It is a very interesting article as well. 

            We have to think of how to fix this problem and of course when dealing with the government; we have to think of the most cost effective way.  So… there are a few cost effective ways to fix it.  First, reintroduce parole back into the Federal system!  Second, for the love of meatballs!  LOWER THESE SENTENCES!  The sentences for the non-violent crimes is just ridiculous and uncalled for!  According to the Huffington Post, about 48% of the more than 218,000 inmates in Federally ran and privately ran prisons, are there for drug related charges.  Now, while I am not by any means saying that drug cases don’t need to be taken seriously or punished, I am just simply saying that when it comes to drugs, I see it as a slippery slope.  Yes, it is illegal.  Yes, drugs are bad.  No, chances are no one is making the addict take the drugs!  I am just saying that there is a half of that population that could be better used for the people who really need to be in there and not come out for a long time (if not ever).  Another cheaper alternative for the offenders with drug offences is Drug Court.  It has proven results, which can be found here on this page.  Also, since Americans are so damn financially driven and always worried about who is in their pocket and where their money is going… Let me hit you where it hurts!  Your ready for it?  LOL  Ok… So, On average, it costs almost $29,000 to keep ONE person in federal prison for one year!  So, earlier I mentioned that there are more than 218,000 inmates in the federal (and private) prisons, so, I did the math on just the 218,000 and for one year, that came out to be $6,322,000,000.  To break it down for you a bit more, I will do it for just the drug offenders.  Since 48% of that 218,000 is drug related offenders, I came up with a total cost of $3,034,560,000.  LOL.  And you guessed it!  That is coming out of the Americans tax dollars!  Go ahead and think about that for a while.  Again, I understand that there are even some drug cases that deserve severe drug sentences.  However, a HUGE majority of them do NOT!  I believe that they need to be severely reevaluated.   

            Anyway… lastly, I will end with this… yes, if you do the crime you must pay the time!  However, there is no need to destroy lives and give up hope in the process.  Instead of locking them up and throwing away the key, give them a chance to let the system work for them not against them. 

             

Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth!

     I gotta say there Mr Ace, you hit the nail spot on the head with your posting, "One Ebola death hardly counts as an epidemic!"  I loved it!  

     The truth is, Ebola has been affecting Africa for years and no one has gave two cares in the world about it until now since it has caused an "epidemic" in the US.  Now they have our troops over there "fighting the fight against Ebola" which will be putting our troops at unnecessary risk which also could potentially raise the number of unfortunate deaths from Ebola in the US.  However, the bottom line remains that Ebola is (should be) the least of our worries when it comes to infectious or fatal diseases/illnesses and Ebola in Africa most definitely needs to be of the least of our worries.  We need to worry about what is going on in our country now, and take care of our people.  Raise awareness for the illness affecting our citizens, help find cures, volunteer your free time, etc.  If you feel the need to grieve when something like Ebola happens in our country, O.K. ... fine!  So be it!  But... Move on and get over it because the truth is that it is NOT that serious!  When it comes to spending money on diseases and curing them and "fighting against them" we need to focus our energy, money and support on what is HERE and most predominant!  Not something that has just affected a hand full of US citizens and is not typically found here.  Don't get me wrong, I agree that we need to be sure that we have a plan in place and health professionals are trained how to PROPERLY and PROFESSIONALLY deal with, handle and treat Ebola patients but that does not mean to put all our eggs in one basket.  There is no need to invest all of anyone's time, money or interest in Ebola or the training for it!   Last but certainly not least, keep our troops out of it!  They have no business over there!  Which by the way... Just curious but in response to the headlines lately... How can you "fight" a disease?  LOL  I just can't wrap my head around that one!  Also, check out this interesting article on the NPR website from 10/2/14 titled, "No, Seriously, How Contagious is Ebola?" about how contagious Ebola REALLY is/isn't (yes I said "isn't) in comparison to Measles, Mumps, SARS, HIV and Hep C.  Also, an interesting fact mentioned in there is quoted as, "The World Health Organization now estimates that the virus has killed about 70 percent of people infected in West Africa."  The picture chart below is included in the article I mentioned as well but I also wanted to include it here for you to check out.