Parole and probation increase the burdens of our mass prison system

The US Wins Again – Incarceration in Global Context Americans love to think of the country as No 1 in every dimension. Richest, most powerful, most freedom, most dynamic economy, best healthcare, best sports teams, best education and on and on…… there are some things that we are No. 1 —>> read more –>>

Mass incarceration, largely through the War on Drugs, combined with white racism has produced a catastrophe for African Americans. It is hard to imagine that if young whites, despite being no more likely to offend drug laws than blacks, were subjected to these laws that we would have seen a sharp reaction from the white majority. Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow is important reading and a call to action. —>> read more –>>

Our justice system is prominently featured in our culture as a source of fair-handed justice. Everyone stands before the law on an equal footing. The justice system in reality is a gigantic fraud of inequality and lifelong punishment. Our police lead the world in the rate at which they kill civilians. The promise of a fair trial before a jury of our peers is denied over 90% of the time. Coerced plea bargaining with the prosecutors holding all the cards after they have staked the deck is the norm. —>> read more –>>