Watching this coverage gave me a lot to think about. How is it that some individuals receive minimal sentences for serious offenses, while others serve life in federal prison for stealing a jacket? How does someone avoid prison time after causing the deaths of four people, yet another person can receive life in prison for facilitating the sale of $10 worth of marijuana? Some individuals convicted of violent crimes are released after about 10 years, but others serve life without parole for nonviolent offenses.
For a long time, I have wanted to study and better understand how sentencing works within the prison system. The three strikes rule, which I once might have supported, now raises serious questions for me, especially when compared to the examples above. I think it is worth paying attention to the work Democracy Now and the ACLU are doing to bring awareness to how over 3,200 individuals have been sentenced to life due to these laws.
From slink” title=”American Civil Liberties Union” href=”http://www.aclu.org/” target=”blank” rel=”homepage”>American Civil Liberties Union found that more than 3,200 people nationwide are serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses. Of those prisoners, 80 percent are behind bars for drug-related convictions. Sixty-five percent are African American, 18 percent are white, and 16 percent are Latino—highlighting what the ACLU calls “extreme racial disparities.” The crimes leading to life sentences include stealing gas from a truck, shoplifting, possessing a crack pipe, facilitating a $10 marijuana sale, and attempting to cash a stolen check. We speak with Jennifer Turner, human rights researcher and author of the new ACLU report, “A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.”
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