WASHINGTON
Alarmed by prisons that are clogged with mentally ill people, drug users and other non-violent offenders while well-armed gangs and drug lords often go unpunished, Virginia Sen. Jim Webb will launch a wide-ranging and politically risky campaign today to overhaul the nation's criminal justice system.
With nearly 2.4 million Americans now behind bars, Webb said, "our incarceration rate has exploded.... But at the same time we aren't really solving the problems."
With backing from senior Democratic senators and quiet encouragement from President Barack Obama, Webb will introduce legislation to create a bipartisan commission on criminal justice reform.
Webb said he wants the commission to educate itself and then the American public on some little-understood realities about crime and punishment.
His bill reads like an indictment of the current system, noting that the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, that minorities make up a disproportionately large share of prison populations, and that half of prisoners will return to prison within three years of release.
Webb said he hopes that once people begin to understand that such a high rate of imprisonment has done little to stop violent crime or drug trafficking, they'll support changes.
The proposal is the product of two years of study by Webb and his staff. A pair of hearings and a half-day convocation Webb led on the subject last fall at George Mason University led to a flood of inquiries from prosecutors, defense lawyers, crime victims, judges and prison administrators across the country, Webb said.
"It was like tapping a nerve." And from all quarters, he said, the message was: "This is a mess. This is just a mess. And we have to figure out a way to fix it."
Webb's bill does not suggest specific reforms but directs the commission to make suggestions that would reduce incarceration rates and keep mental patients and nonviolent offenders from going to prison.
The commission could be the most ambitious attempt to re-examine and reform the criminal justice system since the 1960s, said Mark Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit group that supports reducing incarceration rates.
"It is a huge undertaking," he said.
Webb has briefed Obama's staff on the plan and discussed it with the president earlier this week. He has secured pledges of support from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Democratic whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and expressions of interest from prominent Republicans, including Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Webb also has talked the issue over with Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who invited Webb to his office and shared the texts of several speeches voicing his own concern about criminal sentencing.
The senator said Kennedy told him that too many judges "don't understand prisons" and "don't pay that much attention to what happens after we've moved the cases."
Webb gained national attention last year for his successful effort to secure a new GI Bill underwriting college costs for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For a time, he was considered a prospect to run for vice president on the Obama-led Democratic ticket.
After winning his Senate seat by a razor-thin margin in 2006, "he's improved his standing" with Virginia voters, said Mark Rozell, a political scientist at George Mason University. "He's now seen as a strong incumbent."
But Rozell added that "being hard on crime is the politically safe place to be.... There's just not a lot of public sentiment out there to do something about incarceration time.
"Whether he's doing the right thing or not, politically it's risky."
Webb, a lawyer, said his interest in the issue goes back to his days as a Marine Corps officer, sitting on courts-martial, and it was honed during law school when he did volunteer work on behalf of a young black Marine accused of war crimes in Vietnam.
Later, as a freelance journalist working for Parade magazine, Webb toured prisons in Japan and was struck by how different that country's approach to offenders is from America's, he said. With a population half that of the United States, Japan had just 40,000 people in prisons and jails, he said; the U.S. system had more than 500,000 locked up.
That was 25 years ago; today's prison population is nearly five times as large.
Webb has served as Navy secretary and written several books since then but still does occasional articles for Parade. He wrote a cover story on his prison initiative for Sunday's editions.
He said he expects some political blow-back, particularly from state Republicans.
"Every statement I've ever made on this, every forum I've had, I've said we want to put those who perpetrate violence, those who commit crime as a way of life... we want those people to go to jail," Webb said.
His concern is that "we've spent so much energy chasing down the little guy that we haven't been able to focus properly on the violence and the transnational organized crime that really threaten us."
Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com
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prison reform
If you had an illness like cancer,or diabetes or depression, do you think sitting and talking about it would cure it? I bet you would be looking for a realistic treatment. Locking up offenders with the illness of addiction is like treating depression with a lobotomy. Didn't our country learn something from that one? Our country needs to invest in the medical research for a realistic cure to addiction. Sentences are calculated using guidelines by the Va sentencing commission and a judge can ignore those guidelines. A 3 yr calculation can get you 30 years in Virginia. We have spent Billions on this Drug War. It isn't any better. If you have never had a addict in your family, that can change by morning, for families who have, my prayers are with you. We need realistic drug treatment and judges need to follow the calculated sentencing guidelines. Thanks Senator Webb for having the courage to look for new solutions to old problems. Building new prisons won't change the problem, but a realistic medical treatment may give million a chance for a normal life and give our children their parents back.
Sentencing Reform
I apologize for the incorrect spelling of pedophile.
Sentencing Reform
We need people like Sen. Jim Webb, Julie Stewart, FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums), President, Congresswoman, Maxine Waters, Congressman, Robert "Bobby" Scott, and Rep. Danny Davis to make sentencing reform happen. The fact that judges do not have the authority to override a sentence and review cases individually is ludicrous. The reality is unfair sentencing is unjust. Why do murderers, rapists and pedifiles receive a lesser sentence than a low level, non-violent drug dealer? The "War on Drugs" needs serious reform. Most of the "Kingpins" are still on the streets. Parole should be reintroduced in the Federal system and there should be employment opportunities made available specifically to reintegrate these "human beings" into society.
As someone who speaks from experience
I have had a few friends and even a family member spend some time in jail for non-violent "crimes". For one the only crimes truly committed were stupidity and a really poor defense. There are plenty of people out there who go to jail for extended periods of time for crimes which are quite petty. The punishment should fit the crime, as of now the punishments on average are quite horrifying compared the crimes committed. It's just fine for many of you to denounce these "criminals" until someone close to you is branded as a criminal unjustly and thrown in jail for a long period of time. Jail is not the "cure all" for crime - I can say from personal experience that those coming out of jail have more of a criminal mindset than when they went in. Jails and prisons are criminal factories. Let's find solutions rather than just getting revenge. Revenge does not equal justice.
Clean Slate
One thing you hard-nosed people need to realize is that once you've paid the penalty for your crime, the slate should be wiped clean. One shouldn't pay the rest of their lives for an offence, especially if it's a first and only time offender. If we give ex prisoners a fair chance to redeem and reform their lives, then we'll see the recidivism rate go down. Forgiveness and redemption are one of the major tenets of Christianity, but the attitude of some so-called "christians" you wouldn't think that. Yes some should be punished with incarceration for certain crimes, especially repeat offenders, but give them a second chance at life and a chance to redeem themselves. We have all said or done things, legal or not, that we regret. This hard-heartedness has got to stop. Many of us go around harming others emotionally and get away with it, because it's not against the law, when causing emotional harm can be worse than causing physical or financial harm. Many people get away with causing harm on others--and even though it's legal it's not any less wrong or immoral. As a Caucasian-American, I must say that I believe all these laws and incarceration policies stem from the fear of blacks that
I stopped listening at dehumanization
"Throw these monsters in jail and KEEP THEM THERE."
The above represents stupid and childish thought. Defining people as monsters or animals is the first step to putting them wholsale into gas chambers. The point many have tried to make below is that most people in jails aren't violent "monsters" or at least don't start out that way. If you and your ilk are going to pretend every human being who is locked away or has ever been locked away is more or less as bad as Charles Manson, there is nothing to talk about. You've already lost.
Nations Prison System
I also fully agree. We don't need to put NON-VIOLENT offenders into the prison system. It teaches them how to become VIOLENT offenders. I find Florida's law of MAXIMUM PRISON time for VOP (violation of probation), to be total nonsense. So many hardened criminals are on the streets and our sheriff's are more concerned with finding and filling the prison system with NON-VIOLENT offenders, instead of actually WORKING to arrest VIOLENT offenders. What is our nation coming to, when it's more important to put a non-violent person into our already, extremely overcrowded prisons, instead of rapists, murders, etc?
Exactly Right!
"minorities make up a disproportionately large share of prison population". The reason for that is that they are responsible for a majority of the criminal activity. Don't believe me, check the statistics in any city. The African-American community needs to step up and set new values and expectations for it's own! Webb's bill is just another way of justifying the "your just doing this because I'm black" mentality. I'd like to see some of the black community leaders do something positive in their own community for once!
moose
You're still confused. I have personally witnessed the system do the opposite of what you say. Conviction on three strikes rule, no parole and maximum sentence.
Parole options should exist. Judges should have discretion in sentencing. Prisons need to be opportunities for correction and not graduate schools for thuggery.
Juvenile justice programs, community interventions, an intensified effort to educate all children based on the need of each is where our efforts need to be focused.
Try getting involved in service to our less fortunate communities, hear what the people in the trenches are saying. Then tell me about a simple solution.
Disproportionate WHAT?
When are we as Americans going to wake up? I can't be the only one that thinks if 60% (or 40%, or 80% for that matter) of the crimes are committed by minorities, than that will lead to a "disproportionate" number of minorities in prison! I cringe at stories like the weekends' murder at Waterside, committed by out-of-jail felons - where the heck is the justice in that? You are talking about life-long criminals, with lengthy records of lawlessness, and you really expect them to somehow become productive members of society? Is there some magical, empirical data that suggests that's even remotely possible? Give me a break. Give US a break. Throw these monsters in jail and KEEP THEM THERE.
While we're on the topic of people ruining the country I love (and defended for 24 years), what about the entitlements our new President is jamming down our throats? I know how unpopular this sounds, but why are we supporting people who continue to procreate without the resources to take care of their own? Freedom still does come with responsibility, doesn't it? Maybe if we all started being a little more responsible for ourselves, we wouldn't have to be so responsible for them!
Back at you GeorgeK!
You need to check YOUR facts. Three strikes law in VA was rendered useless because VA did away with parole for given crimes. This same law also only invokes the mandatory MINIMUM sentence for the without parole. The proposed Three Strike law started out as LIFE with no parole. Kaine has managed to find a way around that to make our laws even more pointless. Last year he pardoned Ollin Crawford who was convicted and sentenced under the NO PAROLE law. She only served 23 years of her SEVENTY year sentence. So basically he found his own way of letting the convicted criminals out early to instill more fear and harm on the law abiding citizens. Seems ole Timmy will do anything to add to his voter pool. Think about it, he wants to re-instate the felons voting rights and want's them all to be released early or not go to prison at all. Think of how many votes he gets for that.
i totally agree
"Webb's bill does not suggest specific reforms but directs the commission to make suggestions that would reduce incarceration rates and keep mental patients and nonviolent offenders from going to prison"
I totally agree with Webb while I know others will take every cheap shot at him they can he has my full support on this one.
About time!!
How long can we as americans keep paying for prisoners to be housed.
Do you not get our economy is bad and we keeping forking out money for what! to give room and board to people that could be worked back into our community
For those that say lock them up and throw away the key, Just wait till one of your family members are locked up.then boy you will be fighting any way you can to get them out.
also you say this system has worked, open your eyes to what is going on.Crime has not went down. i dont know what country you live in! I dont see it.And i think i live in the USA
But is the answer to keep building prisons and keep Non violent offenders locked up for 20-30 years at our expense when they could be rehab.
For those that dont like this idea, well i hope you have alot of funds because the rate it is going we will have half of the USA locked up in no time and guess what its coming out of your pocket(yes your pocket) to house them.
Nice ride huh, commit a crime and get free housing and medical on us.
What is a shame is people dont look at reality..This is reality.
the old system doesnt work, finally someone is seeing what we see.. thanks
Amen to that!!
Submitted by justanotheruser on Thu, 03/26/2009 at 11:09 am.
Maybe less people would make return trips to prison if we as Americans cut the hypocrisy and actually gave convicted felons opportunities upon completion of their sentences. Just a thought...
So true, my Friend. Some want the released felons to be punished for the rest of their lives..."Gave up their rights when they committed the crime" school of thought. Well, that certainly isn't conducive to someone staying out!! Released felons must be able to work, get a license, get housing. Period. They're not asking for the world, just an opportunity. The ones that have made up their minds to do the right thing, will make it.
ah so that's what "conservative" means
"the bottom line is that prisoners have no rights"
in law (if not in practice), this has not been true in Anglo-American societies for many hundreds of years. what is it you're trying to "conserve," Mr CPA? certainly not the deep-seated history or customs of civilized nations. would you like our "justice" to resemble that of the Saudis or those in Singapore? cut off a hand for stealing, 40 lashes for spitting on the sidewalk? maybe China, where selling some marijuana to someone is a capital offense.
if yours is a "conservative" point of view, I want none of it.
ConservativeCPA
Your invectives are hardly worth comment.I am concerned for your health. All that acid can't be good for you.
Prison Reform
What no one has pointed out - the crime rates have decreased over the last 10 years. Perhaps we ARE doing something right!
However, I would still revamp the prisons to separate the violent offenders from the non-violent- perhaps as one writer suggested with monitored house arrest. Being somewhat radical I believe that prison is designed for those that can be rehabilitated. Those that commit a crime so horrible that society cannot live with them again need to be executed.
someone said -
We lock up more of our population than any other civilized country.
No problem, lets run our prison system the same way they run theirs.
I am SURE that people will not WANT to go to prison any longer.
Melissa
Don't break the law and you will not have to worry about hair length or walking in a straight line. You think you are owed education while you are in jail? You are just the type of person who supports Nobama.
If we want to keep people from returning to prison (revolving door syndrome), then make a person's first experience so miserable that they do not want to go back. Prisoners should be at hard labor 12 hours a day. No TV, no amenities. Families should have to pay for their meals etc.
If they keep returning to prison, maybe they should be water-boarded. Oh, I know that my comment will elicit howls but the bottom line is that prisoners have no rights and should not expect their stay to be pleasant.
That said there certainly needs to be reforms for non-violent offenders, but any prison time they must experience should be like hell on earth.
a markowitz is also more logical than his detractors
They have to resort to specious argument and falsehoods.