"Justice" System?

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Reason magazine,a political newsletter that leans libertarian, is devoting an entire issue to the failures of the American Justice System. Now I think that everyone, regardless of political affiliation, should at least glance through the material as it's both illuminating and damning, but it's conservatives who support small government and the drug war that really NEED to read this. I'm linking the articles individually, and will be adding more as they are released.

Prison Math

Wrongful Convictions

Declare Defeat and Go Home

Locked Up, Locked Out

The Ends didn't Justify the Means

This stuff is far too important to TL;DR, especially if you have faith left at all in the state's ability to deliver "justice".

For an ongoing onslaught of similar information and stories, check out http://www.theagitator.com/ .

I may add some personal anecdotes later into the thread, as I have friends and relatives who've been direct casualties of the war on drugs and their stories are important as well.

thanks, looking forward to the read, it might give some insight.

they usually have good commentary on social policy. I look forward to the read

These caught my eye:

Wow....so many thoughts, but I'll be very brief.

Those articles are correct about who goes to prison and why. I don't really buy the "racist" argument, because if you go to anyplace, you'll notice a more insidious trend...the POOR are more likely to be incarcerated for crimes than a RICH person is. This is in large part to the fact that a poor person gets a court-appointed counsel who's barely being paid anything to represent them but the rich person can afford a quality attorney who has the means (and motive) to better influence a more fortunate outcome.

If a person is guilty, doing time is the price they pay. This, of course, will ignore fundamental issues of the morality of the law they are accused of violating, but for most violent crime, I have no sympathy...I only acknowledge that a wealthy criminal has a better chance of avoiding incarceration or receiving a significantly reduced penalty.

There is a matter of injustice in the criminal justice system, but most of that is politics. Most prosecutors have their eye on becoming a judge someday, and in any case, getting ahead comes from proving their ability to get the job done. Hence, it is all about getting convictions. An issue I point out to police officers is that if they think the courts are there to sort out the matters they submit, they are ignorant of what really goes on in courts. Prosecutors are out to make a name for themselves, and most will bulldoze innocents without a second thought because they believe it is their holy calling to put every perp handed to them into prison.

Now, on the way incarceration ruins opportunity, I can sympathize, but one must understand that employers want workers they can trust. It is a sad fact that an overwhelming majority of parolees return to a life of crime. Granted, being unable to establish an "honest" lifestyle and succeed from it does create pressure to return to the life that will put them to work...criminal conduct, but most return to a life of crime because they really do not want to change. I agree that way too little is done to help those who do want to reform get back into society as productive citizens in honest and rewarding jobs.

There is no doubt in my mind that the "war on drugs" is a failure. I also agree that our system of law and punishment does not really work, but to be fair, I don't know what would work. I advocate public executions where the guilt of capital crimes can be proved to an absolute (3 or more witnesses, for example), but for the most part, here is our problem....

Prisons are not places "criminals" fear. Thanks to court rulings, you are guaranteed 3 hot meals, a place to sleep, and free medical care (and more) or your punishment is "cruel and unusual." Go to most other countries and see what their prisons are like...people in the USA would be horrified to face that. It would certainly deter many criminals if they knew that's what they were facing, but it still would leave a number of criminals who are willing to risk it. Perhaps I have a cold-hearted way to see it, but I think society needs to show no mercy to the worst in our society. Prisons that impose suffering. Executions. Why do we do so much to care for "inmates" but our elderly live in squalor and have to decide between medication or food? Certainly the worst prisons should be reserved for the worst of criminals. Perhaps we need to take lesser offenders and make them WORK off their debt to society. At least make it so that inmates don't have the option to sit around and do whatever they want all day. Make them live like normal people....get up early, go do moderate to hard labor, have a couple hours of personal time in the evening and then lights out. No reason for them to have 7 days a week to hang out in the yard working out, studying in the law library, etc.

There is also an insidious angle where I believe those in true power want to create a "prison culture" where we all are treated as inmates. Incarceration usually means loss of voting rights = disenfranchisement. While you might ask, "Why care what criminals want?" The fact remains that they are citizens with needs that should be addressed. Being paroled does not result in the reinstatement of voting rights as a matter of law...it must be petitioned for and granted...often not so. So, a big part of why the system is broken is because those in power like it that way. Prison labor is becoming a real growth industry. Pay someone way less than minimum wage and your products can undercut other non-prison labor competitors.





Locked Up, Locked Out

The Ends didn't Justify the Means

This stuff is far too important to TL;DR, especially if you have faith left at all in the state's ability to deliver "justice".

For an ongoing onslaught of similar information and stories, check out http://www.theagitator.com/ .

I may add some personal anecdotes later into the thread, as I have friends and relatives who've been direct casualties of the war on drugs and their stories are important as well.[/quote]

I don't disagree with you--but I do think that raises a question of whether this is a tolerable circumstance in a society which claims to be free, democratic and subject to the rule of law.

If the likelihood of conviction differs according to a characteristic of the accused that is irrelevant to conduct complained of, then the whole premise of the courts' ability to deliver a fair and impartial trial is called into question. In that circumstance I do not believe that government can stand back and remain inactive.



Politics it may be--but that does not mean that government can stand back and allow it to go unremediated. There are some very straightforward procedural safeguards that could be put in place which would temper this trend--for example a positive obligation on the state to provide complete disclosure at the time of arraignment--not merely of evidence on which the state intends to rely, but also all evidence, including that which tends to exculpation.

A disqualification of transfer from the bar to the bench of prosecutors who have failed to meet this requirement is a bit ham-fisted, but it is an example of a means by which prosecutors can be held to an appropriate standard as officers of the court, rather than merely agents of the government.



I suppose it depends on what you call an "overwhelming majority." The crude figure in the United States hovers at about 60%, but recidivism is notoriously hard to pin down.

But regardless of how you count recidivism, government is faced with the issue that most offenders will be released, and when they are released, it is incumbent on the corrections system to ensure to the best of its ability that these people have the skills and the capacity to support themselves without resort to reoffending.



Well, I think there are any number of proposals out there which might go some way to mitigating the failings in the system:

1) Discontinuing the "war on drugs." The US prison population is overwhelmed by offenders caught up in this misguided venture. While overt legalization is problematic, certainly the legalization of marijuana would significantly ease the pressures on the system, as well as providing a source of excise tax revenue.

2) Making realistic investments into education, training and rehabilitation programs. If offenders can't get into programs and complete them before their release, what use are they? There need to be enough places, and meaningful training opportunities, so that offenders have real job skills on release.

3) Take concrete steps towards dealing with poverty. The correlation between crime and poverty is too significant to be ignored. If you want to prevent crime, then start taking active steps to keep people from perceiving crime as a necessary or reasonable venture. Start investing in school programs to keep kids out of gangs, for example.



The problem here is that general deterrence simply doesn't work effectively. It may appeal to a desire for retribution, but as public policy, it really does nothing to prevent crime.

However, the contrast between inmates and those living in poverty is a stark one, and one that should be a national embarassment in any country where it is allowed to occur. I include my own in that assessment--while no Canadian goes without medical care, there are any number of other indignities inflicted on the poor in this country that ought to be intolerable in a wealthy society.



You are touching on the dirty little secret of the prison industry. The establishment of private, for-profit service providers earning money from the government for managing incarceration, and exploiting prison labour at the same time. This is not the action of responsible government, in my view.

Just stopping the war on drugs would free up the system at every level
from the street though the courts and in the prisons.

There are far too many laws and far too little justice.

ruveyn

Indeed, one legal scholar, Harvey Silvergate, believes that the average American commits 3 felonies a day if the laws on the books were fully enforced, and has written a book by that title.

Time for an update:

Rape Factories

The Crime Rate Puzzle

Less Time Less Crime

The Price of Prohibition

Perverted Justice

The Guilt Market

Muddled Masses

Based on the article titles alone, you'd think "Rape Factories" would be the most disturbing (and it is disturbing), but if you're only going to read one article, make it "Perverted Justice". As awful as sex offenses and the people who commit them are, what's being done in the name of punishing them is a much greater threat to society than the offenders themselves, and this coming from someone who thinks a 9mm round would often be the most appropriate solution to these cases. Read the article, it's worth the time.

Thanks for posting this.
This is why I am a libertarian ...
well libertarian + trade unionist.
Every body has got a right to organize
and make contracts

The State's ABILITY to deliver justice? Simpson and Sampson - the State does not even know the people involved.

The State's WILL to deliver justice? I do not trust the State.

The State's ABILITY to enforce its laws? Too many laws, too few guards.

The State's WILL to enforce its laws? The administration of the mement chooses which of the laws on the books it values and worksd to enforce those.

The Workers are Revolting! Very revolting.

The Unionized Proles are primarily knuckle draggers.

ruveyn

It really does speak to one of the central myths of libertarianism, that what it's all about is being selfish and not wanting to pay taxes. To me, the central motivator for most libertarians is a strong distrust of authority, and examples of why not to trust authority are essentially what theses articles are about. These are the types of stories that really make me angry, that get me engaged and wanting to do something about them. At the moment the best I can do is to try and raise awareness, so here I am doing that.

I can't read anymore, and I can't comment. The horror just make my brains hurty.

I admire the sensible Libertarians in the same way that I admire David Brooks. I want to do something productive to address the issues they raise, but I won't join their side because of their insane associates. What, then, can I do?

I admire sensible libertarians in the same way that i admire unicorns.