The Problem Can Be Fixed on Alabama Criminal Justice Problem If Those In Power Would Listen

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
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Date: Sep 10 2018 9:33 AM

NOTE:    This is such a simple problem to resolve. As someone who has been in the criminal justice system since 1977, the issue is those in power do not want to resolve it. They feel their power in the black robes and that they know everything, when in reality they know very little about the problem.

But they refuse to listen to those wit boots on the ground that talk with the defendants and understand the issues.

While not all Judges, but a lot of them...there is something in the black robes that seems to cut the oxygen to the brain, cause they can make some messed up decisions when on their throne.

If they would get off their high horse, listen, there are ways to fix this mess. But they have to listen, be willing to step outside their box, and do it!

ALABAMA POLITICAL REPORTER

Alabama’s prisons are notoriously some of the worst in the country. They’re violent. They’re underfunded. They’re unable to handle the mental health care needs of those incarcerated. And they’re also overcrowded.

In fact, Alabama’s prison population has increased fivefold since 1980, forcing state-run prisons to operate at 164 percent capacity-which makes them the most overcrowded prisons in the country. Lengthy sentencing practices have meant that around half of Alabama’s prisoners have a 20-year sentence or more. Few people are released on parole. Our prison system has become unsustainable.

In 2016, Alabama spent nearly half a billion dollars of its general fund on corrections. And as more people enter prison, stay longer, and aren’t released, that number will continue to climb.

But we can and must change this trend. Alabama ranks near-last among states on healthcare, education, and opportunity. The resources we are spending on correctional facilities could be spent investing in our communities–and until it is, we will all continue to pay the price.

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