The switch in the party affiliation of positions of power after the term's elections has finally unblocked the stopper on reform for the criminal justice system. The Rockefeller Laws, which regulated drug related crimes in a way which affected indigent minorities the most, are supposedly under review.
Justice is blind - at least this is the idea under which criminal justice gains legitimacy. Yet, since the hierarchies of society are reflected, inevitably, in our criminal justice system (result of laws such as the Rockefeller Laws? flaws of the system? I don't know!), how legitimate is justice really?
Monday, February 9, 2009
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2 comments:
The entire way the USG handles the War on Drugs is flawed. Rehabilitation, rather than prosecution and interdiction should be the main focus of any policy. Of course prosecution and interdiction must remain, but they should not be the sole focus of our national drug policy. It is the small amount of habitually addicted users (about 5% of all total users) that create the majority of demand in the U.S. Rehab is the only thing that will save these people.
I agree with you - though, do you think that our hope that rehabilitation will work with drug addicts is a little naive?
Rehabilitation is a good goal to have - it usually takes three to four treatments before a person can truly kick the habit. Perhaps courts should accommodate?
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