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Editorial:
Two
Million
is
Too
Many
in
Prison
2/11/00
David Borden, Executive
Director, [email protected]
Josef Stalin, the murderous
revolutionary and dictator of Soviet Russia is reputed to have once said,
"When you kill one, it is a tragedy. When you kill ten million, it
is a statistic."
Perhaps it is because of
the incomprehensibility of such great numbers that the incarcerated population
of our country has been able to reach the two million mark. Looking
at some populations that the jail and prison population now exceeds may
help make it seem more real:
-
Our incarcerated population
is larger than the populations of Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia or Wyoming (using the 7/1/99 census estimates).
-
Our incarcerated population
is larger than the populations of Wyoming, Vermont and Alaska combined.
These aren't the largest states,
but they are entire states nonetheless. Imagine if instead of watching
New Hampshire's primary campaigns on TV, we built massive, fenced, guarded
cages in which to lock the entire state's population -- men, women and
children -- and took away their right to vote, as we have from most felons.
The economic and social costs would be staggering. Yet nearly twice
as many people are incarcerated nationwide, and more than five times as
many are in the "system" in some form, whether incarcerated or on probation
or parole.
Unlike the typical New Hampshire
resident, most, perhaps, of the US incarcerated population has broken some
law, just or otherwise, to get there. But that doesn't insulate us
from the social disruption and escalating price tag of the incarceration
program. Across the country, states are trading education spending
for prison spending. Countless families live in forced separation
and undue financial hardship; the pain of such separations often leads
young people into lives of crime themselves.
And when these legions return
to free society, as most of them eventually do, they will be burdened with
criminal records that will frighten off most potential employers; but will
be armed with increased knowledge of crime and relationships with career
criminals, all gained in prison. In the African American community,
where one in every three young black men is on criminal justice control
on any given day, the massive overuse of the criminal justice system to
address social problems has itself become one of the major causes of poverty
and urban blight.
History will not praise our
drug and crime policies as jobs well done. More likely, future students
of our time will shake their heads in disbelief, wondering how 20th century
America could be so blind, so self-destructive, for so long and at such
a cost.
But perhaps they will note
Feb. 15, 2000 as a turning point, an awakening, a day when wisdom began
to prevail over cruelty and fear. Let us strive with all our energies
toward that vision.
-- END --
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Issue #124, 2/11/00
Vigils/Protests to Greet America's Two Millionth Prisoner on February 15 | Senate Subcommittee Chair Vows to End Anti-Drug TV Credits | Newsweek Runs Gore-Warnecke Excerpt, New Yorker Column Good on Policy but Unfair to Sources | Father Appeals Son's Suspension for Refusing Drug Test | British Columbia Supreme Court Orders Renee Boje Surrendered For Extradition -- Appeals Hearing With Justice Minister Set for March 10 | UK: Drug Czar Suggests Relaxing Marijuana Enforcement, Then Backpedals | There's A Riot Goin' On: Tales of Police Misconduct Pile Up in Unfolding Los Angeles Scandal | Enforcement Scandals Lead to Death and FALSE Convictions | National Call-In day on Colombia, February 15, 2000 | State Action: Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia | Editorial: Two Million is Too Many in Prison
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