the FBI estimates that 15% of these people are wrongfully convicted! Which equates to a major city's population! What can be done to change our system to where innocent people are not inprisoned?
2006-11-11 22:58:42 · 5 answers · asked by paulisfree2004 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
It's pretty disgusting isn't it?
America incarcerates more of its citizens than any other industrialized/modern nation (by percent).
Fix it? Well a good start would be to end all the Prohibition laws that dictate how Americans behave in their own homes (ie Draconian drug laws, prostitution, gambling). Legalize and CONTROL drugs and their profits.
But most importantly, our darn politicians have to quit making more stupid, restrictive, redundant laws! We now have so many rules, regulations and edicts that make it so easy to break a law, without even knowing the law exists. Waste of time, and wasting of America.
2006-11-11 23:09:42 · answer #1 · answered by Gem 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
you know what's disgusting? People that sit back and constantly bash the US. I agree that there are probably quite a few people in jail that are innocent, but as the others have stated with CSI & DNA those people are being released more often now. As far as the US having dumb laws about prostitution, drugs, etc. Would you like to live in a country where everyone was free to do what they want? No laws, no rules, no consequence? I think not, there has to be lines drawn somewhere. I would rather them err on the side of putting someone away that they believe did do the crime, than letting a slime bag walk the streets that is guilty. Understand the system is only as good as the people running it, and people make mistakes. Or by chance Gem, are you the one and only person in the world that never makes a mistake?
2006-11-12 07:24:43 · answer #2 · answered by Michele A 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
That is a tough call. I think with the invent of using DNA to link criminals, the number of wrongfully accused have dropped considerable. I heard on TV that prosecutors are reopening cases that did not do DNA testing and trying to get people out of jail that shouldn't be there. Sometimes, it may be better to investigate the cases a lot better before they go to trial. It is a hard call though, because every case is extremely different, and people in the courtroom are different each time.
2006-11-12 07:09:15 · answer #3 · answered by Jay S 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, not all of them are imprisioned, as you wrote yourself - a number are under supervision. Could you post a link to that statistic from the FBI, I would be interested in seeing it. Are 15% of people ever convicted not-guilty (because wrongful convictions in the past were more common than they are now).
I think we have already done a lot - investigation techniques, such as CSIs and DNA have allowed for more accurate testing.
2006-11-12 07:08:46 · answer #4 · answered by jerry 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't you mean imprisoned? We still have the best justice system in the world. You will never be able to stop innocent people from being convicted because of the lawyers. We can't take them out of the equation because we would then be socialists. But that's probably what you are hoping for. A socialistic society falsely imprisons more than 15% of innocent people. The government then has a right to put you in jail for any reason.
2006-11-12 07:05:53 · answer #5 · answered by Michael K 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋