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Overincarceration is Us

By Michael Blankenship

Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke out against excessive prison sentences this month in California, criticizing the state?s deeply misguided three-strikes law. It was a welcome message, delivered with unusual force. Much of the blame for the law, however, lies with the Supreme Court, which upheld it in a decision on which Justice Kennedy cast the deciding vote. Read more... Here is the problem in a nutshell: "Sentences in the United States are eight times longer than those handed out in Europe, Justice Kennedy said. California has 185,000 people in prison at a cost of $32,500 each per year, he said. He urged voters and elected officials to compare taxpayer spending on prisons with spending on elementary education." Idaho currently spends 9...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Justice Gambit on February 16, 2010 (boomark / email).