The Number of Black Drug Offenders in Prison on The Decline

Interesting and somewhat surprising numbers from the Sentencing Project today, as reported by the Washington Post. The number of blacks incarcerated for drug offenses has decline rather sharply by over 30,000 between 1999 and 2005. The number of whites incarcerated for drug offenses has actually increased by over 20,000. However, the white increase is twice as significant, in terms of percentage, as the black decrease. The reason the numbers are from a few years ago is that 2005 was the last time the Federal Bureau of Prisons produced prison populations numbers broken down by race.

The Sentencing Project hypothesizes two reasons for the changes. One, an increase in use of alternative sentences such as drug courts. Two, an increased focus on Meth, a drug disproportionately used by whites. Nonetheless, the numbers seem to indicate that drug courts are working and hopefully this will result in an even greater increase in their use and further shift away from locking addicts away for a few years only to release them untreated back into the population to continue their cycle.

Supreme Court Hears Drug Case

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case in which a criminal defendant was arrested for buying cocaine using a cell phone. The purchase itself would only have been a misdemeanor. However, since he used a cell phone to make a purchase the government is attempting to use a law that,

prohibits the use of a communication facility in causing or facilitating the commission of any act constituting a felony under the Controlled Substances Act...

to convict the defendant of a felony. Although the purchase would be a misdemeanor, the sale and distribution is a felony. Therefore, (according to the government) the defendant's phone is the "communication facility" from the law quoted above and now he is a felon.

I'm sure what this person needs is to be convicted of a felony and have his prospects for a decent life completely ruined. It would be awful if he got off with a misdemeanor and maybe some drug treatment if he needed it. Nah, lets throw him in jail and turn him into a convicted felon. I just hope the Supreme Court makes the moral decision here.

Cop Beats Teen Girl

You can see the girl kick her shoe at the cop, I guess that warranted a beating. Unbelievable. The video was released in conjunction with an assault case against the cop. This all happened in King County, Washington.

Kids Sent to Jail for Money

A pretty vile story out of PA. It's been making the media rounds recently so you may have heard about it. Basically, two judges were receiving money in return for placing juvenile offenders in jail. The judges were being bribed by two group who ran the private juvenile prisons where the kids ended up.

Some of the kids were sent to these facilities for fairly minor offenses, like stealing loose change or fist time drug paraphernalia offenses. Even more absurd is that many of the children appeared before these corrupt judges without any legal counsel.

Both former judges will spend about 7 years in prison. Here they are, the a-holes:



How many kids lives have been damaged by this? Why do people trust the Criminal Justice System again?

World's Greatest Dad Guilty of Sex Abuse

"Authorities have not confirmed whether Everett has children."

CNN