USA Prison System (edit)

    It is my conviction that only violent criminals should be locked up. And done so to protect other people. However, today's prison system is too quick to "simply" punish the inmate, and we are paying for it. Both in our wallets and when the inmate is released.

    I'll give you a real life situation to explain the problem, then give my solution. These are two people I was talking to on the same evenings in our county jail.

    A young lady wrote a "hot" check for $3,000 dollars. She was arrested and put in prison awaiting her trial. The same week a man killed his wife, while forcing his three children to watch. I'll spare the details.

    The lady went to trial and was sentenced to five years with no parole, even though it was her first offense. This made her children victims because she was a single mom. The tax payers lost, because they had to pay the bill for not only the trial and prison expenses, but her children had to go on welfare. The original victim lost, because she would never get her $3,000 dollars back. Otherwise, everyone loses the way the system is set up.

    If the Lady who wrote the bad check was not sent to jail, she would still be working. Her children would not be on welfare and the taxpayer would not be paying $30,000 per year to keep her in prison. Money could be taken out of her check to pay the victim four times what was stolen. This way the only one that loses is the person who did the crime.

    Meanwhile, the man who butchered his wife and made their children watch, did less than five years. He spent two of them in a state hospital for the insane. Now he's back in jail for the third time. Go figure. Everybody loses again. Our prison system has lost it's purpose.  The protection of citizens and rehabilitation of inmates should be their main goal.  Instead, it has become our number one growth industry, and we are paying for it in our wallets. 

    The solution is not to lock up non-violent criminals automatically.  First, hit them financially.  About 40% (in my experience) are able and willing to pay so they can keep their jobs and stay out of prison.  Considering options on a case by case basis, and making incarceration the last option, will take much of the load off of taxpayers.  Also, get tougher on violent criminals.  Maybe our prisons won't be overcrowded.