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Saturday, September 3rd, 2016

This small Indiana county sends more people to prison than San Francisco and Durham, N.C., combined. Why?

Author:     JOSH KELLER and ADAM PEARCE
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     SEPT. 2, 2016
 Link: This small Indiana county sends more people to prison than San Francisco and Durham, N.C., combined. Why?
Stephan:   Justice. Somewhere along the line we as a country lost track of what that means. "Derived from internationally accepted standards, the World Justice Project’s definition of the rule of law is a system in which the following four universal principles are upheld:
  1. The government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.
  2. The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property and certain core human rights.
  3. The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient.
  4. Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve."
The U.S. is not even in the top 15 nations in terms of  justice. In fact we are 19th according to the World Justice Project, which is the acknowledged source for this data.  Here is one of the reasons we rank so poorly. This is a trend, and the only way it is going to be stopped is citizen action. One indicator as to how likely that is to happen will be how many vote in November.

“I am proud of the fact that we send more people to jail than other counties,” said Aaron Negangard, the prosecutor in Dearborn County, Ind. Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

LAWRENCEBURG, INDIANA— Donnie Gaddis picked the wrong county to sell 15 oxycodone pills to an undercover officer.

If Mr. Gaddis had been caught 20 miles to the east, in Cincinnati, he would have received a maximum of six months in prison, court records show. In San Francisco or Brooklyn, he would probably have received drug treatment or probation, lawyers say.

But Mr. Gaddis lived in Dearborn County, Ind., which sends more people to prison per capita than nearly any other county in the United States. After agreeing to a plea deal, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

“Years? Holy Toledo — I’ve settled murders for […]

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1 Comment

  1. Mark Ruocco on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 6:59 am

    Wow, a glaring example of the unequal hand of the law. If you are looking for justice, I’d advise looking somewhere outside the “justice system” and even the rule of law.

    Laws, though created with the intent to improve social outcomes, hurt the people who follow them. The paradox being..

    Law-abiding citizens obey the law
    Criminals are lawbreakers, and thus do not obey the law
    Laws impose restrictions on the behavior of only those that follow them
    Laws, therefore, only hurt law-abiding citizens