- Bringing forth data and providing testimony opposing unproductive and ill advised proposals such as mandatory minimums and felony charges for drug possession crimes (LDs 44 and 773)
- Supporting smart proposals that recognize the proven failure of the 35 year war on drugs, such as the initiatives to further decriminalize marijuana (LDs 750 & 754) and
- By fighting to ensure quality legal defense for indigent clients, as required by the Constitution (LDs 593. 602 and 609 and comments to the Governor's proposed budget).
This is because detention of individuals is the most serious deprivation of liberty possible.
The State's ability to incarcerate someone - to remove them by force from their home, their community, and their livelihood and place upon them a label which has lifelong consequences - should not be exercised lightly.
The tendency towards a knee jerk "lock em up and throw away the key" attitude towards criminal justice in this country has, thus far, yielded disturbing and disastrous results. In my humble opinion - it's well beyond time we look towards alternate approaches that recognize and address factors like mental illness, drug addiction, and problems with prisoners' community re-entry. As I said to the Criminal Justice Committee during one of the hearings - if you bang your head against the wall for 35 years and your haven't gotten rid of that migraine - perhaps it's time to try a new strategy.
Some interesting facts:
The United States is, by far, the world’s leading incarcerator, with over 2,319,258 people – or 1 in 99 adults – in prisons and jails across the country. In fact, the U.S. has both the largest raw number of people behind bars and the highest incarceration rate in the world.[1],[2] All tolled, more than 7.3 million Americans are under some form of correctional control. This number represents a stunning 1 in 31 adults, or 3.2% of the total adult population of the United States.[3]
This trend of “tough on crime” policies resulting in dramatically high rates of incarceration is a dramatic departure from previous decades. Between 1970 and 2005, the United States prison population rose a shocking 700%.[4] In contrast, during the previous 50 years, the U.S. prison population grew at a rate similar to that of the general population.[5]
These figures do not represent a dramatic rise in crime rates, but instead reflect a radical shift in crime policy. Contemporary over-incarceration represents a massive ideological and monetary investment in punitive discipline and harsh punishment. In 2008, states spent more than $47 billion dollars on corrections, which translates, on average, to approximately 1 of every 15 general fund dollars spent on corrections in 2007.[6]
Corrections costs are occupying increasingly large portions of state budgets, leaving considerably less for other priorities, like education and healthcare.[7]
These priorities are unsustainable. In addition to being extraordinarily costly – something Maine can ill afford in these terribly difficult budgetary times – they are also ineffective at protecting public safety. Research has shown that, at best, the relationship between increased incarceration and reduced crime rates is limited. [8]
Maine must acknowledge that the crime policies of the last three decades have failed to make communities safer. We simply cannot afford to keep locking so many people up - particularly for non-violent offenses.
There exists a real opportunity on the neighborhood, state and national levels to change our approach to crime and begin investing in the social institutions that truly create safe and healthy communities.
The rampant creation of new crimes and the ratcheting up of penalties for existing crimes only further exacerbate the fiscal and societal problems stemming from overincarceration.
Please contact your legislator and let them know you support SMART laws and policies that recognize the need for a reasonable, integrated approach to criminal justice and the high costs and low payoff of imprisonment - particularly for non-violent or first time offenders.
[1] One in100: Behind Bars in America 2008. The Pew Center on the States, February 2008.
[2] And an additional 5.1 million Americans – or 1 in 45 adults – are on parole or probation or some other form of community supervision. One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections. The Pew Center on the States, March 2009.
[3] Additionally, there are well over 100,000 people incarcerated in U.S. territories, Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, and juvenile residential placements, who are not typically included in incarceration rate calculations. One in 31.
[4] Public Safety, Public Spending: Forecasting America’s Prison Population 2007-2001. Public Safety Performance Project, a Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
[5] Incarceration and Crime: A Complex Relationship. The Sentencing Project, 2005.
[6] One in100.
[7]While state spending on corrections jumped 303% between 1988 and 2008, spending on higher education increased by only 125%. One in 31.
[8]Some research has shown that, when states with high incarceration rates increased their prison populations further, crime actually rose. .Don Stemen, Reconsidering Incarceration: New Directions for Reducing Crime. Vera Institute of Justice, January 2007. Incarceration and Crime.
