Why We Should Release Non-Violent Prisoners

There are approximately 2 million people incarcerated in the United States. The hallmark of any good justice system is mercy. For non-violent prisoners, we should arrange a one-time grant of amnesty and release them. It would save the taxpayer enormous expense.

There are approximately 7 million people who are either incarcerated, on parole, or on probation. A very high percentage of these people are men. In a nation of 310 million people, about 155 million are men. Using a rough figure of 6 million men, that is about 4% of the male population that is under the penal system.

If you're a victim of crime - as I am - it's easy to be consumed by reactionary stupidity. In my opinion, it's a big mistake to become a reactionary. Even though I was robbed at gunpoint one time, I still think a one-time amnesty grant is a good idea.

It would be absurd and evil to repeat the mistakes of the Germans during the Nazi era. In that era, the German elite chose a fatalistic political ideology (socialism), followed an insane militant (Hitler), and persecuted a minority (the Jews) while the system collapsed. They followed a theater image of a nut to their destruction.

Though our prisons aren't concentration camps, there are some alarming developments. The Mariel Cubans were incarcerated without Due Process in the U.S. after fleeing Communist Cuba. They were seeking a better way of life like everybody else in this country. After years of incarceration without Due Process, prison riots erupted.

They were first incarcerated in the 1980's, and their case is blight on the American legal system. They should be released immediately to anyone that will take them.

There have been reported cases of prisoners going missing in the American prison system.

The Guantanamo Prison threatened to leave the country with a legal system that includes indefinite detention without trial, a horrible injustice that is unacceptable to voters. We didn't create the Republic for this.

People are currently in jail for thefts, non-violent drug sales, tax issues, gun ownership issues, prostitution and many other non-violent offenses. A one-time grant of amnesty would save the taxpayer money. It would demonstrate that the United States is a place where people believe in mercy.

Of course, judgment is also essential to any good legal system. On the very day that amnesty is granted, there is nothing to stop the arrest and trial of those who have committed crimes, violent or non-violent. Murderers, rapists, kidnappers and armed robbers aren't going anywhere. More resources in the prison system would be available to punish such people, and costs would be reduced.

Source: U.S. Statistical Abstract