The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Before you even read any farther, take a look at this short video. It is absolutely FRIGHTENING.
https://www.facebook.com/InsiderNews/videos/760507585303195/
This is a new mega-prison in El Salvador, especially designed to house and punish the country's vicious drug gangs. Look at them—handcuffed, leg shackled, and herded like cattle. Think about it. Would you want anything like this in YOUR state, in YOUR county, or anywhere NEAR where you live?
Even when locked in prison, could you feel safe with a huge concentration of thugs like these close by? What if even just a few escaped. What kind of mayhem could you expect.
And besides escapes, what about some just being turned loose? Don't think it could happen? Don't ever forget GITMO. The terrorists inside should have been promptly executed on the spot. But George W. Bush decided it was safe to just keep them there—perhaps indefinitely. After all, they were in a secure military base down in Cuba; what could possibly go wrong? But when Bush's term expired and Obama took over the presidency, he released FIVE of the most dangerous of these despots in exchange for ONE American deserter. We can only guess how many innocent people those five have massacred since then.
As a percentage of its population, Alabama is already top-heavy with prisoners, including many perfectly harmless individuals, convicted against constitutional standards, who would pose no public safety risk if released. Were you aware that the United States has a higher percentage of its people in prison than any other country in the WORLD? And now look at Alabama. Its percentage is even HIGHER. Why so many?
The answer is largely our insane zero tolerance drug laws. If you get caught with a gram or two of a “controlled substance,” you go straight to jail. The absence of any harm done to anybody is irrelevant; you're BUSTED!
In fact, just this last April (2023), our legislature passed an extreme bill to outlaw Fentanyl. A single gram was enough for three years in prison. Eight grams would sentence you to LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE. This is just for possession, not for harm of any kind. Our governor, Kay “Poison” Ivey, immediately rubber-stamped it into law.
To enforce this insanity, on March 15, Kay Ivey had already given her approval to spend almost $1 BILLION to build a new 4000 bed mega-prison in Elmore County. Earlier, she had actually proposed building THREE of these monstrosities. Her impeachment cannot happen soon enough.
When we look at Western Europe, we can see a sharp contrast. Only a tiny percentage of its population is in prison or jail. And yet, it has minimal crime compared to ours. Why? It does not have our idiotic laws forbidding people's personal habits. Over there, people are free to smoke “weed,” and enjoy numerous other personal pastimes that would land Americans in jail and impose huge fines. In Amsterdam, people can legally come to public places to engage in various “sins” ranging from recreational drugs to prostitution. In fact, prostitutes display themselves in store windows. They are certified clean, safe, and free from any venereal diseases. There is NO crime associated with any of these activities. Western Europe's crime rate is so low, some countries are actually closing prisons for lack of inmates.
But in America, we have a long history of jail and prison abuse. Beginning well over a century ago, innocent people were literally picked up for just existing, for “vagrancy,” just “having no visible means of support.” They were arrested, packed into local jails, and leased out to farmers and businesses for hard labor—state-sanctioned human trafficking and slavery.
Then in 1920, with the enactment and enforcement of prohibition, crime escalated to intolerable levels, and multitudes were incarcerated for selling and imbibing prohibited spirits. Eliot Ness style raids terrorized neighborhoods everywhere.
After prohibition's repeal in 1933, in its infinite stupidity to provide jobs for laid off enforcers, our government, under Franklin D. Roosevelt, began criminalizing marijuana and other drugs in 1937. Then in 1970, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act with catastrophic drug regulations and penalties which created gangs, cartels, crime, and prison over-populations both here and abroad. Over the last few decades, prison profiteering and incarceration rates have exploded.
How do we rectify this problem? Step one is to REPEAL our stupid anti-drug laws—ALL of them—including Kay Ivey's new Fentanyl crusade. Yes, these drugs are dangerous. But everybody has a right to decide what to put and what not to put into his body. Yes, some will make stupid decisions and hurt themselves. Some will even kill themselves and win “Darwin Awards.” Nevertheless, a person's personal choice is sacrosanct and should be left strictly alone. That also includes prostitution, gambling, and all other so-called consensual crimes.”
If drugs are legal and open to free markets for everybody, drug cartels and gangs become unprofitable and disappear, and they will not be enticing new recruits to try dangerous drugs to enhance their profits. As a result, crime must greatly diminish with them.
How do we dealwith other crimes? Thugs who commit murder, school shootings, armed robberies, and acts of terrorism should, if possible, be shot on the spot, and finished off with a second shot if needed. Gangs like those who shot up the Dadeville birthday party—including the 15 year old—deserve swift extermination.
For heinous and capital crimes, execution is the only rational solution. Now, since Alabama has officially adopted nitrogen asphyxiation (which is quick, expedient, simple, safe, cheap, painless and idiot-proof), there is no excuse not to have a quick trial (no more than a week) with no more than a one day appeal, and then prompt execution the next day. No more 20 year delays on death row with endless appeals costing millions, and no more lengthy life without parole for the same reason. If the crime is that severe, then quick, humane execution is the solution.
An obvious treatment for rape is castration. This is very effective in abating the uncontrollable sexual urges that are present in some people. Those who have been castrated would then be able to live and work like normal people. A simple way to perform it without surgery or bloodletting is to apply a rubber band onto the scrotum in the same manner it's done with farm animals. After a month or two to allow hormones to adjust, the inmate could be released.
Thieves, burglars, and vandals should be required to pay double for all of the damages they had done to their victims—double the monetary value of any property taken plus an assessment for family heirlooms, other special items, and medical treatments for injuries. Minor thieves can be on work release as long as they pay their victims in a reasonable time, AND commit no more thefts or other crimes. Major thieves can work on the prison farms and perform other duties, and ALL of their earnings shall go to the victims until the debts are paid—perhaps double the value of their victims' losses.
To justify whether a person should be in prison, these assessments must be made.
1. Did his act cause bodily harm to the victim?
2. Did his act cause loss of property to the victim?
3. Was his act intentional and deliberate—not an accident?
If these are true, then prison can be justified. Otherwise, no.
If an act was a bona fide accident, even a deadly one, with no intent of malice, prison should not be imposed. Prison for traffic violations and accidents is a big no no. And of course, every citizen has a right to defend himself against criminals, even with deadly force.
Keeping people in prison for long periods of time is cruel and useless. Ditto for long times while awaiting trial. Not only does it interfere with their abilities to pay off their debts and take care of their homes and families, but it costs tons of our tax money and often subjects them to abuse from prison staff and other inmates, including beatings, stabbings, homosexual rape, and desires for revenge. And finally, prisons often function as crime schools where inmates teach each other how to commit greater crimes.
Prisons should NEVER attempt to prevent suicides. If an inmate cannot tolerate his life in prison, for whatever reason, he should at least be allowed to end his misery. In fact, in a civilized prison, he should be granted his RIGHT to be voluntarily euthanized by nitrogen asphyxiation. Besides being merciful, it will save the state considerable money.
Yes, our prisons could use upgrading and improvements. But we do NOT need more or bigger prisons. We MUST eliminate profit motives and mandatory sentencing. We need to follow Western Europe in minimizing prison populations and enacting alternatives to keep crime down. That includes prompt executions of vicious criminals and ending our extreme and abusive laws against recreational drugs and personal activities that have no victims.
STOP the prison-industrial complex. STOP the mega-prisons. STOP prison profiteering. STOP mass incarceration. STOP statesanctioned human trafficking. STOP modern day slavery. STOP the CRUELTY.
SOURCES
1. Video, El Salvador Mega-prison https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=760507585303195&extern
a l _ l o g _ i d = 0 1 f 7 c 2 6 7 - 3 9 2 c - 4 0 e 1 - 8 c 8 4 - 792208a20ec4&q=el%20salvador%20megaprison
2. Associated Press News, Alabama closes bond deal to build mega-prisons, July 12, 2022.
https://apnews.com/article/prisons-alabama-lawsuits-kay-ivey-6696ee0d8fe383173d86c72037b68bf3
3. Whitmire, Kyle, Kay Ivey’s billion-dollar surprise, March 17, 2023.
4. Stephens, Glenn, Prison Contract Bidders Donated to State Leadership, December 9, 2019.
5. Smith, Doug, End Mass Incarceration Cutting Jail & Prison Populations.
https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/end-mass-incarceration/cutting-jail-
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