Some of us are going to jail

[edczxcvbnm]

Report: 1 percent of U.S. adults behind bars - CNN.com (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/28/prison.population.ap/index.html)

According to new reports, 1 in 99.1 US adults are now in jail. So in your school class of 300 people, an average of 3 of them will be going to jail. Hell...even here at EoFF of the 300 or so active members, eventually 2 of us will be going to jail(I don't know the break down of how many US residents there are compared to foreign people...I took a guess!).

What do you make of this jail state? What laws do you think are landing so many people in jail? How broken is the system if so many people are landing in jail? Is it a social problem in more poor areas compared to more affluent areas? Are people just embezzling more and getting caught?

Discuss this awesomely depressing news!

[Peegee]

I can't think of any of us who were in Jail. I'm sure it's happened. If we can name two people who has been in Jail, does that mean that I'm never going to be in jail, since I won't be among the two listed?

[Aerith's Knight]

then its a good thing im not a US adult :)

[Roto13]

I think certain people who live a certain way are more likely to end up in jail. (lyk duh.) We don't have a lot of those people here, I don't think.

[edczxcvbnm]

Do we consider all the people that are banned to be in the group of more likely to go to jail folk?

[Rantz]

I thought banned people were sent to jail in the process. :(

[TyphoonThaReapa]

...:shifty:...Smurf Tha Police!!!...I Plead The Fif...

[Aerith's Knight]

...:shifty:...Smurf Tha Police!!!...I Plead The Fif...

im gonna bet all my marbles that you are the least likely to go to jail =P

[Anno Domini]

ugh. but i dont want "Bubba" to be my new best friend

[TyphoonThaReapa]

...:shifty:...Smurf Tha Police!!!...I Plead The Fif...

im gonna bet all my marbles that you are the least likely to go to jail =P

A'yo, Imma bust some caps in ya' ass just from not respectin' my gangsta son!:shoot:

[Aerith's Knight]

...:shifty:...Smurf Tha Police!!!...I Plead The Fif...

im gonna bet all my marbles that you are the least likely to go to jail =P

A'yo, Imma bust some caps in ya' ass just from not respectin' my gangsta son!:shoot:

barking dogs dont bite

[Strawberry_Mew]

I guess it depends what u did to go to Jail...my class well alot of them were retarded... >.< I have only rode in a cop car to go to the Jail but not stay there I got into a wreck and they took us there since the weather wuz really crappy to wait for our ride

[Quindiana Jones]

Britain has around 20 odd places left in our prisons.

[Psychotic]

What do you make of this jail state? It's fine.
What laws do you think are landing so many people in jail? I don't know. Maybe "The War on Drugs" and the like.
How broken is the system if so many people are landing in jail? The justice system is fine. Apparently the moral system isn't.
Is it a social problem in more poor areas compared to more affluent areas?Obviously.
Are people just embezzling more and getting caught?Probably.

[TyphoonThaReapa]

...:shifty:...Smurf Tha Police!!!...I Plead The Fif...

im gonna bet all my marbles that you are the least likely to go to jail =P

A'yo, Imma bust some caps in ya' ass just from not respectin' my gangsta son!:shoot:

barking dogs dont bite


According to Psychology, they pack quite the punch to certain people...:cool:

[Aerith's Knight]

According to Psychology, they pack quite the punch to certain people...:cool:

ghehe.. well thats been enough of that. I'll humour ya :)

yes that typhoon, he'll cap police's ass. He is totally gansta drug dealer pimp.. that.. uh.. plays FF.

and he's on the streets rapping so much that he.. is here most of the time?

hmmm.. xD

[Madame Adequate]

Well if you stop locking adults up for personal, non-violent actions they perform within the privacy of their own home, having given their consent, I wager the prison population would fall dramatically.

[TyphoonThaReapa]

According to Psychology, they pack quite the punch to certain people...:cool:

ghehe.. well thats been enough of that. I'll humour ya :)

yes that typhoon, he'll cap police's ass. He is totally gansta drug dealer pimp.. that.. uh.. plays FF.

and he's on the streets rapping so much that he.. is here most of the time?

hmmm.. xD


...Dammit, you win this one Martha Steward! But I'll be back! I always come back!!!:mwahaha:

[NeoCracker]

Well if you stop locking adults up for personal, non-violent actions they perform within the privacy of their own home, having given their consent, I wager the prison population would fall dramatically.

I wouldn't say Dramatically, but it would definitely be noticeable.

Though I do think we should look more at society itself rather then the legal system. (Not saying it shouldn't be fixed up, I just don't think that it's the biggest problem.)

[Madame Adequate]

Well if you stop locking adults up for personal, non-violent actions they perform within the privacy of their own home, having given their consent, I wager the prison population would fall dramatically.

I wouldn't say Dramatically, but it would definitely be noticeable.

Though I do think we should look more at society itself rather then the legal system. (Not saying it shouldn't be fixed up, I just don't think that it's the biggest problem.)

DoJ suggests that about 20% of folks in prison are there on drug charges. Even if not all of those would be released, a fairly significant reduction in prison population would result. Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm)

Though whether this would be dramatic or not, I admit, is open to interpretation :p

[Shoeberto]

I think legalization of marijuana, or at least decriminalization of posession, could definitely lead to a massive decrease in prison inmates, which could have a good effect on our economy (less cash being spent on keeping up prisons). I'm pretty sure posession is one of the main things getting people put away.

[NeoCracker]

WTF? 20%? Did not think the number was that high for people being there on drug charges.

[Old Manus]

Send them to a foreign country like Austral-wait

[Aerith's Knight]

Send them to a foreign country like Austral-wait

im having the strangest feeling of deja-vu

[Quindiana Jones]

If America had remained under British rule, this would have never happened.

[Miriel]

I think legalization of marijuana, or at least decriminalization of posession, could definitely lead to a massive decrease in prison inmates, which could have a good effect on our economy (less cash being spent on keeping up prisons). I'm pretty sure posession is one of the main things getting people put away.

I really really doubt that small time possession is what lands people in jail. I know people who DEAL marijuana, but again, they're really small time. They've been caught by cops, but didn't do any jail time cause the amount they were selling was so small. I'm pretty sure that the people who land in jail for any significant amount of time for marijuana related charges are the ones who are big time dealers. That being said, I also agree that the legalization of marijuana makes sense and could help alleviate the "war on drugs" problem.

The system is in fact very flawed. But I don't think you can attribute that to one single thing... except perhaps poverty.

[Madame Adequate]

Aye, I would say that reduction in poverty (i.e. an increase in educational standards) is the correct long-term course. But I think in the short term, ending this War on Drugs nonsense would be a good step to take.

[smittenkitten]

Not been to Jail yet, been in a police car though. :p

[Aerith's Knight]

the day smitten goes to jail, is the day we all die =)

[theundeadhero]

I'll see you on the inside.

[~*~Celes~*~]

never been in a cop car or jail :)

[Cookie]

I've been chased, questioned, shouted at and stuff, but I've never been in a police car or in prison.

[nik0tine]

The United States of America is a nation of hysteria and nonsense lawls laws. This is the biggest flaw to Democracy. Every few years or so people freak out en mass over something stupid and our crooked legislature couldn't be happier to enact laws that gain them voter points. Then the hysteria dies down and the laws are still active and they are damn near impossible to change because the government is nothing but a big, messy bureaucracy.

Edit: I have heard that prison building is the fastest growing industry in the United States. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

[NeoCracker]

The United States of America is a nation of hysteria and nonsense lawls laws. This is the biggest flaw to Democracy. Every few years or so people freak out en mass over something stupid and our crooked legislature couldn't be happier to enact laws that gain them voter points. Then the hysteria dies down and the laws are still active and they are damn near impossible to change because the government is nothing but a big, messy bureaucracy.

Edit: I have heard that prison building is the fastest growing industry in the United States. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

I missed you.

[Zeldy]

Ive had police walk past and look at me really dodgy, and Ive ran when I've seen a police car because I was drunk and I'm under-age. I've been in a cop car, though, my uncle is a volunteer police officer, so he arrested me in the middle of a supermarket, hand-cuffs and all and walked me to the car. I got so many bad looks off people :(

[Evastio]

I'm not going to let some statistics make me paranoid about going to jail and I don't think anyone else should be paranoid about it either.

People's actions are a whole different story though...

[Randgris]

Lucky me. I'm not American. :D