Hard Time

Mathew Yglesias expresses his disbelief in his blog titled "Hard Time" on ThinkProgress.org.
Yglesias writes about the over-imprisonment in America, based off The Economist website, which argues on the belief that in our civilized world there are so many that are locked up for such petty crimes. Yglesias is a credible, logical writer who holds a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University and has written in, The New York Times, the Guardian, Slate, The Washington Monthly, and other publications. In a recent poll done by International Center for Prison Studies, ranked the United States first, above Russia, having the most inmates. Yglesias states "when a habitual rapist is locked up, the streets are safer, but the same is not necessarily true of petty drug-dealers, whose incarceration creates a vacancy for someone else to fill, argues Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie Mellon University. "

According to Yglesias, some states treat opium-derived painkillers such as Percocet like hard drugs, if illicitly sold. Possession of a tiny amount (14-28 grams, or ½-1 ounce) yields a minimum sentence of three years. For 200 grams, it is 15 years, more than the minimum for armed rape. Prosecutors may charge him with selling a smaller amount if he agrees to “reel some other poor slob in”. He is told to persuade another dealer to sell him just enough drugs to trigger a 15-year sentence, and perhaps to do the deal near a school, which adds another two years.

Yglesias is making his argument towards supporters of a better criminal justice system and interest groups such as the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) and Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. He claims, sticking to tradeoffs inside the realm of crime prevention, it would clearly make more sense to increase the quantity and quality of police officers and parole/probation supervisors than to be handing out these endless jail sentences. Even for legitimately serious violent crimes, it’s more important to catch and prosecute people quickly and effectively than to lock people away forever and ever.

I feel Yglesias has a valid point and think it is ridiculous that our criminal system doesn't see the time should fit the crime. "Criminals" who are caught selling drugs are getting a much heavier sentence than a rape conviction or child pornography. This is the kind of problem that causes over crowding of the prisons. It also causes the addicts who instead of jail time need medical help, such as rehab, but as a result they become harder criminals than they were before they went in.