WPC Social Justice Advocacy

Clipboard of Ideas for Fall 2010 Series

THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

COMMISSION ACT
 
by Mary Anderson Cooper
 
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is one of over 100 national religious, social service, civil liberties,
criminal justice and law enforcement organizations that have endorsed the National Criminal Justice
Commission Act (S 714).  This legislation, introduced by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) with 35 Senators from
both political parties, has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits action by the full
Senate.  The House version of the bill (HR 5143), with 18 bipartisan co-sponsors, is pending before the
House Judiciary Committee.
 
With only 5% of the world's population, the U.S. is home to 25% of all incarcerated people.  The
commission to be created by this legislation would seek to determine why this is the case and to propose
improvements in the criminal justice system to assure that it is actually a program that administers justice,
not one devoted only to incarceration of people, some of whom may not belong in prison. 
 
With the rapid rise in the cost of the prison system, one issue is the growth of incarcerations for drug
offenses (an increase of 1200% since 1980, with no demonstrable decrease in drug activity).  Another
issue is how often mentally ill convicts are imprisoned rather than hospitalized.  According to Sen. Webb,
there are four times as many mentally ill people in prison as in mental health facilities.  Still another
problem is that many people who have been intimidated by overzealous police and prosecutors have
been wrongfully incarcerated for crimes they did not commit or punished excessively for nonviolent or
victimless crimes simply because they were not able to defend themselves.
 
The Commission is charged with investigating barriers -- many imposed by the criminal justice system
itself -- that prevent people who complete their sentences from re-entering society successfully.  Often
people with convictions in their past are barred from voting, benefitting from government programs even
though they pay taxes, and being hired for certain jobs.  This lack of forgiveness for those who have been
punished often results in recidivism, poverty or homelessness for former prisoners and their families. 
 
The Commission will make recommendations to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve
cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice, including the ability of those whose sentences are
concluded to participate fully in society.

  New Effort Launched to Fight Child Exploitation

as reported by WDUQ

The US Department of Justice has launched a nationwide strategy to combat child exploitation
but many of the tools are already in use here in Western Pennsylvania. The national program
includes a comprehensive threat assessment of the dangers facing children from child
pornography, online enticement, and commercial sexual exploitation.

Locally, the US Attorney’s office has convened the Western Pennsylvania Crimes Against
Children Task Force since 1999. Child exploitation prosecutions have jumped in the region from
5 in 1999 to 267 so far this year. Officials say tat makes the Western District of Pennsylvania
one of the busiest offices of its size in the nation. A Child’s Place at Mercy Director Mary
Carrasco says much of that can be attributed to the taskforce, “[Child exploitation] is a growing
problem but the taskforce has contributed a lot to people working together and coming up with
solutions and coming up with new strategies to approach this problem. “ She says when the
taskforce first started to meet, some of the members were hesitant to share information but that
was quickly overcome.

Carassco says as the taskforce worked together, the members found ways to improve the process
so children would not have to be repeatedly questioned by different agencies. “I remember a time
when we did not ask kids if they were photographed or if there was any Internet component,”
says Carassco. That has been important in tracking down child sex offenders.

The improvements have come as recently as this weekend. Using a Depart of Justice grant,
Pennsylvania State Police along with Massachusetts State Police and The University of Mass
Amherst developed a new tool to track, in real time, individuals sharing child pornography on
the Internet. It was used for four hours Sunday. The results were posted for a news conference
Monday on a map (above and right) as red markers.  Acting US Atty. Robert Cessar says the tool
is still very new but it will be used as much as possible, “we are gong to do our darndest to make
sure five years from now there is going to be a lot less red on that [map].” Cessar says the maps
were not surprising but they “stole his breath away.” “You know it’s out there but until you see a
pictorial, or something, it just does not register. But when you look at that, that registers,” says
Cessar.

As part of the national effort each region was asked to list their five most wanted fugitives. The
five posted by the Western District of PA are all men who have violated the terms of their release
to remain in touch with law enforcement as registered sex offenders. Marshall’s office officials
say they will use all the tools they have to find all the people on the list.

 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Sent by Scott Laird 8/9

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the
conscience of the state.  It must be the guide and critic of the state, and never its tool.  If the church
does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or
spiritual authority. 

Comments on Article on Imprisonment

Rough justice in America

Too many laws, too many prisoners
Never in the civilised world have so many been locked up for
so little
See article

Jul 22nd 2010 | Spring, Texas

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61-80 of 87
indievoter999 wrote:

Jul 28th 2010 5:45 GMT

While there is probably some element of truth in this article and indeed there is probably no
reason to incarcerate non-violent first time offenders, this article does point out the need for
MORE prisons.

Have people lost their minds?

Convicted criminals deserve harsh punishment, minus the many perks they receive now.

Convicted felons do not deserve the right to vote and should be forced to give up many of the
rights that law abiding citizens maintain by being law abiding citizens.

We should not look to Europe for guidance on crime and punishment as most of that continent is
populated by soft and weak bleeding heart pacifists who simply don't know right from wrong.
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DresdenBill wrote:

Jul 28th 2010 6:23 GMT

The article omitted consideration of what may be the root cause of America's excessive prison
sentences. It is much more difficult to apprehend and convict a criminal in America than almost
anywhere else. Apprehension is impeded by what most people think is a good thing, the great
freedom of movement enjoyed here. Conviction, however, is greatly impeded by the judicial
system. The U.S. Supreme Court has issued pro-defendant procedural rules that are either
nonexistent or applied more sparingly in almost all other nations. Once American cops have a
likely suspect, he can insist on a lawyer, (if he does not, he must be told he can have one), and
the lawyer is paid by the state. Minor procedural infractions get the case thrown out, and
sometimes the jurisdiction can be held liable for millions of dollars in damages for irregularities
that would do no more than raise eyebrows in Europe. To offset this pro-defendant bias, a crime-
sickened electorate insisted in the 1980s on longer sentences for the guys who actually did get
caught. In this respect, the voters were like the economists who regard it as sensible to have high
penalties coupled with low enforcement. The problem with the high penalties, as you point out,
is that it gives enormous leverage to prosecutors, and low-guilt defendants are coerced into
confessions and prison time. If this story has any validity, then a more humane system might
actually involve loosening some of the supposedly humane procedural safeguards, such as the
exclusion rule. A public that had some confidence that bad guys would be more regularly
convicted would be willing to let up on the sentences.

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Nirvana-bound wrote:

Jul 28th 2010 8:05 GMT

Maybe someone should suggest to Michael Moore to make a searing docu on the "(in)Justice
System" in the US..

Not that it's gonna change things v much, but at least it may get the masses thinking..

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TS2912 wrote:

Jul 28th 2010 8:33 GMT

This article exhibits poor journalism and sensationalism.

The example of George Norris was misleading and poorly researched.

Anyone caring to look at the indictment against Mr Norris http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-

circuit/1355209.html will note the following:

1) Mr. Norris was not a casual 'hobbyist' (his imports from 2002 onwards exceeded $200,000 per
year). The government found proof of (falsely labeled) imports exceeding $70,000. (The actual
value, undetected by the government, would be many times that).

2) The government clearly proved intent (on both sides) to mislabel and hide specimens. The
government also proved that both sides had a system to decode these mislabeled imports in order
to subsequently identify them (and presumably sell at true market value).

So George Norris was clearly a 'crook'. One could debate that his sentence was too harsh... but
that would be another debate

And while I do agree that we lock up too many people, I wish the Economist had provided a
better example

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Lennon Stravato wrote:

Jul 29th 2010 4:44 GMT

The incarceration rate is the real crime. It is dehumanizing, immoral, and a tremendous waste of
money

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Testcar wrote:
Jul 29th 2010 5:18 GMT

I agree that too many people are in prison and many punishments outway the crime. However,
the Norris part of the article is a total misrepresentation of the facts, clearly an attempt to
sensationalize instead of inform. Perhaps people should not be imprisoned for smuggling
wildlife, but that is a different argument. The Economist is not practicing honest journalism.

Many readers here can't image why a person would care so much about an orchid. Well, to a
hobbyist its just liek any other form of art, except this one was created by mother nature instead
of man. And the orchids that Norris "accidentally didn't have the paperwork on" were the
equivalent of the Mona Lisa. (Wikipedia describes Phragmipedium kovachii as "the most
important orchid species to be found in the Neotropics in the last 100 years.") Nobody outside of
Peru had the plant because it was known to be illegal. Everybody wanted it. Norris illegally
imported them but puttign legal orchids, with paperwork, in the top of the box and the illegal
kovachii on the bottom. This was an organized attempt to bring in plants worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars, and he got caught. This was not an accident. It would be like bringing in a
box of art student's paintings, with the stolen Mona Lisa in the bottom of the box and then
expressing shock when the authorities call you on it. Then the economist writes an article about
how you were a victim because you accidentally smuggled the most expensive painting on the
planet in an got caught.

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Traglio wrote:

Jul 29th 2010 1:02 GMT

"Innocent defendants may plead guilty in return for a shorter sentence to avoid the risk of a much
longer one. A prosecutor can credibly threaten a middle-aged man that he will die in a cell unless
he gives evidence against his boss."

Sounds like Stalinism to me. Seems like another situation in which we have spiraled out of
control a bit at a time without any real intention to have done so. That's because many of our
political decisions are de facto made by interest groups, lobbies, and certain sectors of the public
who control their local politician.

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James337 wrote:
Jul 29th 2010 4:28 GMT

One aspect of the criminal justice system that the author fails to address is that, even with the
enormous incarcerations due to convictions, the court system is still very defendant friendly.
This article needs to be read with the understanding that it takes an enormous burden to prove to
a jury of 12 people that someone has unanimously and without doubt committed a crime. The
truth is, if they commit the crime there needs to be justice, if not just for the victims, the people.

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harmons wrote:

Jul 29th 2010 4:56 GMT

and this is why costs are so high that they have to start letting folks out early.

http://www.newslook.com/videos/191902-releasing-prisoners-early-due-to-c...

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Disenchanted Law Student wrote:

Jul 29th 2010 9:48 GMT

What are often overlooked in studies on crime rates are the statistics of crimes that occur within
the prison walls. When someone is raped on the streets, it's a crime. When someone is raped in
prison... well, guess you should have thought about that before you sold your contraband orchids.

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Finn McCool wrote:

Jul 30th 2010 2:34 GMT

As an American of a certain age, I have experienced a dramatic shift in my respect for the
system. I am now MUCH more fearful of our draconian and insane laws regarding punishment
for truly mundane offenses -- as well as the obsessive, fanatical ... and often outright evil --
prosecution of those horrible laws by a rapidly growing mob of self-advancing public
prosecutors and cops. We are quickly turning into a psychotic police state where prosecution and
punishment is often far more evil than the offense.

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Map It Up wrote:

Jul 30th 2010 2:57 GMT

Discipline and Punish: World Prison System.

Which are the 15 countries with the biggest prison population? What is the National Detention
Rate and how does it range? How much the United States spends for the prison system or to
maintain one person in prison?

To find it out, give a look to this very clear map:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/giuliofri/4843268833/

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Ghost of William O Douglas wrote:

Jul 30th 2010 9:32 GMT

@Straborn--The article is pretty comprehensive, but it does fail to mention one key economic
motivation behind our abnormally high incarceration rates. In many states, California in
particular, the prison guards' union and private corrections companies that actually run the
prisons lobby heavily against legislation that would reduce sentences or mandate that judges
consider non-incarceration sentencing options like probation or drug treatment.

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Tom Thumb wrote:

Jul 30th 2010 11:50 GMT

This Missed-Justise has been going on for to long.
Playboy has been jumping up and down for years on the dumb things law-enforcement is doing
to the innocent man!
There are many great things the the law-enforcement community has to be proud of! The men
and womens lives loss in the protection of the civilian population!etc.
Unfortunately these mistakes should not and cannot be allow to continue and they should be
corrected!
Always I hear that there are to many LAWYERS in this country! Which is true! Why don't each
one of them pick a case pro-bono and help out these people.
The ACLU is to busy defending the Illegal aliens so they will not be there to advise you, but give
it a try! Help Someone!

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MightyHorton wrote:

Jul 31st 2010 4:02 GMT

America was settled by Puritans. Despite all the immigration during the 1800s and 1900s, the
Puritans still control a big part of its politics. In many ways there isn't much difference between
fundamental Islam and fundamental Puritanical Christianity. Other than the leaders of both
movements, most of the members are relatively uneducated, or at least narrowly educated,
authoritarian personalities.

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Kyamalli wrote:

Aug 1st 2010 1:35 GMT

Informative article, but one omission regarding the US jail population. Far too many people with
mental health issues are jailed then sent to prison (the longer term, second step in the US) with
only a few US cities actively working to treat them rather than incarcerate long term. The prison
system can only do more damage and increase recidivism to these individuals.

If treatment can be introduced when "criminal" meets the jail system, prison may be avoided.
This falls in to the political and public awareness issues you were adressing.