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04/08/2002 Archived Entry: "3/1/02 Prisons"

There was an article in the newspaper today; "Tough Law on Youth Crimes Upheld," in which we were advised that the California Supreme Court has upheld proposition 21. This was the proposition that makes it legal to try juveniles as adults, and place them in adult prisons rather than juvenile detention centers. It is a bizarre situation.

The United States now has more prisoners per capita than any country in the world, and guess which state has the most prisoners per capita in the USA. California, first in building prisons, 42nd in education.

I am blessed to have Van Jones as a close friend and associate in the work. He is the founder of the Ella Baker Center, and one of the leaders of the "Books Not Bars" campaign. Were it not for Van, and the "Books Not Bars" campaign, I would not know these things. I do not think most Californians understand the situation. Perhaps I am naïve in thinking that were they to know they would not want the situation to continue as it has. The current prison system is a criminal manufacturing process. In that it is very similar to the "war on drugs" which is a drug distribution system.

What do I mean? Why do people sell drugs? To make money, right? What kind of money? Two kinds: for those who are hooked, money to buy more drugs, for others, just money. What would happen if the government was to license/regulate the sale of drugs? There would be no more pushers. What would happen if it were not illegal to use drugs? The prison population would be reduced by 50% (?). Is there a truly a desire to stop the spread of drugs? Or, is there a desire to be self righteous about the use of drugs?

Same with prisoners: put teenagers in prison with hardened criminals, let them be raped and brutalized, let them choose as role models those who are toughest, and then expect them to be "reformed" by the process. It is amazing how stupid we can be.

What can we do to change these things? What can we do that would actually produce change? What can we do to develop an effective strategy?