The Top 40

Can't wait to hear from all the conservatives on here how we need to increase the size of government and spend more taxpayer money to keep the failed war on drugs alive and well.

Yeah, its more than drugs. Society in general has corroded and as the broken windows crime theory in NYC proved: the little stuff is what leads to the big stuff. Lose objective, absolute morality in a society, and you get more crime, more criminals, and thus more people in jail.

I do think its pathetic that some people think conservatives like smaller government for the sake of smallness, though.

OMG, they did it again: They said that incarceration rates increased, even as crime rates fell. Think about it real hard ...

I know, its hard to conceive of. Its as if one might, just MIGHT be leading to the other, somehow.

I'm convinced that states and local governments get money for the number of prisoners they have. Read your local jail roster sometime. I watched some poor guy in jail for three months for illegal camping. There are no trials. They charge the person with everything they can think of, then assign a public defender that gets so many cases that they can't remember the clients name. It takes years to get through the case as the judge signs away your right to a speedy trial. Many of the people in jail are there for driving while suspended. They got some driving offense, couldn't afford the fine and had to get to work. They can rack up thousands of dollars in fines for minor offenses. It is a terrible, lawless system and we need to start to fix it by firing the officials responsible for it. I'm starting to think the spoils system was a good idea. It's the only way you can turn them out.

I'm convinced that states and local governments get money for the number of prisoners they have. Read your local jail roster sometime. I watched some poor guy in jail for three months for illegal camping. There are no trials. They charge the person with everything they can think of, then assign a public defender that gets so many cases that they can't remember the clients name. It takes years to get through the case as the judge signs away your right to a speedy trial. Many of the people in jail are there for driving while suspended. They got some driving offense, couldn't afford the fine and had to get to work. They can rack up thousands of dollars in fines for minor offenses. It is a terrible, lawless system and we need to start to fix it by firing the officials responsible for it. I'm starting to think the spoils system was a good idea. It's the only way you can turn them out.

Everybody is guilty. You just haven't been caught yet.

A lot of conservatives don't like small government. They like big government that they control. I like Constitutional government -- limited government, but that's only because I like freedom.

Seems that both liberals and conservatives like big government.

Too many laws, too many judges and lawyers, too many plea bargains, too many lenient sentences, jails too nice.

Not enough capital punishment, not enough harsh sentences without parole, not enough criminals forced to pay money to victims and for legal costs, including incarceration, not enough of the broken windows miscreants getting a punch in the face.

As I understand it, the phrase "crime and punishment" should be just that. Clear cut infractions and harsh punishments.

If you're in favor of any gov't at all then you are in favor of more criminals. The insanity will end some day and maybe, just maybe, I'll find out what freedom is really like.

Once again, there seems to be some confusion between conservative, and GOP Republican-in-office actual voting record.
Don't worry, Tea Party(ish) folk are the "somebody else" actually on the job, but when only 50% have to "pay" taxes, only 50% have an IQ over 100, and only ?% legitimate ballots filed...well, it's been daunting.
Thumbs up to C. Taylor, and mushroom, (above) for historically based linear, thinking. I'll disagree with mushroom in that IMHO, conservatives DO like a small gub'mint...well, that they can control. Much less "overhead".

"The CIA is trying to trap blacks in prison by sending drugs into their neighborhoods"

Nobody selling dope before they went to prison was unaware it was illegal and they could go to jail for dealing it. They did it anyway. The people going to jail over drugs don't care enough about their own lives to stay away from dealing or trafficking in it.

Nobody is in prison for A JOINT. The perp and the Prosecutor reached an agreement that the guy the cops are sure killed someone, but can't prove it, clearly had dope on him and so he's in jail for the dope, not the murder.

There are plenty of people in the shitcan on trumped up charges. Defending the US justice system is a proclamation of ignorance.