(abcnews.com) According to a new Justice Department report, 7 million men and women, or 3 percent of the U.S population, are currently incarcerated, on probation or on parole  a new record that makes the United States the world leader in incarceration.
[...]
The rate of incarceration for minorities is especially high. According to the criminologists, the incarceration rate for African-American males is eight times higher than that of white males. A 2005 Justice Department report found that 60 percent of state and federal inmates were black or Hispanic.
That racial disparity can have a big influence on the U.S. political process. Many states have laws that forbid convicted felons from voting, or mandate a period of years after release from incarceration before reinstating voting rights.
In Kentucky, for example, almost 25 percent of African-American males in the state are barred from voting because of criminal records. According to the Kentucky League of Women Voters, Kentucky, Florida and Virginia permanently bar all individuals with felony convictions from voting. (more…)
The article continues by citing that the emergence of crack cocaine is a main factor behind the imprisonment of so many of our Black men.
This is one of this issues that I continue to think long and hard for an immediate fix. The Libertarian ideology suggests that if we were to legalize drugs, folks would no longer have to use crime to get access to what we consider “street” drugs.
While the logic makes a lot of sense to me, the growing movement in this country for a “free” health care system similar to Canada defuses the legalization route. Legalization may cause a slight decrease in recreational drug sales (because now you can get it anywhere), but for the millions who have been addicted over the years — Lawsuits and Legislation.
Lawsuits over faulty drugs would be at an all-time high. Political activists would play a huge role in this lawsuit culture as campaign after campaign would make a big deal about how drug manufacturers make these drugs addictive (think tobacco companies). Legislation to cover these addicts under universal health care would be birthed as folks would take the “their drug addiction is America’s fault” approach. As a result, billions more would be spent in more government programs that already have a dismal success rate when compared to private charities.
**Updated**
The only solution that I see is not a quick one. The whole drug issue (those that are in prison for selling it) is not just about economics as many would have you to believe. It also speaks to the void that millions of these young men and women are trying to fill in there lives. Trying to convince a young man or woman that the long term value of a minimum wage job goes much further than a hustle that earned them thousands of dollars a week is no small task. Teaching values that appreciate hard work are best fostered in a stable home environment. While the extended family, concerned neighbors, teachers, religious institutions play the strong secondary, it is the home life of these individuals that serves as the bedrock of values reinforcement.
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