Go Directly to Jail Thread

[O Really]

Here's a couple of good articles about US incarceration practices and effects...
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc ... picks=true

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/arc ... picks=true

I thought of this a few days ago when I was watching a Johnny Cash bio show. He did do a lot of shows in prisons, some of which were in San Quentin. Looking at the crowd of prisoners at his show (early 60s) it was startling to see that almost all of them were white, hardly any had tats, and all had decent haircuts. The guards were also white, and most did not look like Porky. I don't know what you had to do back then to get sent to San Quentin, but these guys looked like regular average people, maybe accountants or sales reps or whatever. I'll bet if you took the same picture now, hardly any of the prisoners would be white.

[O Really]

Here's some more current perspective on San Quentin... http://www.wbur.org/npr/92296114

And another pic... http://www.rt.com/usa/245425-california ... w-crowded/

[JTA]

Here's a couple of good articles about US incarceration practices and effects...
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc ... picks=true

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/arc ... picks=true

I thought of this a few days ago when I was watching a Johnny Cash bio show. He did do a lot of shows in prisons, some of which were in San Quentin. Looking at the crowd of prisoners at his show (early 60s) it was startling to see that almost all of them were white, hardly any had tats, and all had decent haircuts. The guards were also white, and most did not look like Porky. I don't know what you had to do back then to get sent to San Quentin, but these guys looked like regular average people, maybe accountants or sales reps or whatever. I'll bet if you took the same picture now, hardly any of the prisoners would be white.

War on Drugs?

After coming back from Colorado, the whole war on drugs thing seems even more asinine than before. I went to a few dispensaries for research purposes, and saw a bunch of people with obvious medical ailments buying some green. There were normal folks there too, but seeing sick people really made it hit home. The stuff is probably helping them with pain and suffering and making them feel better. Here's a fucking plant, illegal in most places, being sold like it's no big deal. A plant that can ruin your life in other places if you get busted with it. There's even billboards for dispensaries on the interstate! The fact that it's not even a big deal out there just really hammered it home for me.

A goddamn plant...

[O Really]

Here's some pics from the SanQ/Folsom shows... http://www.neatorama.com/2014/07/25/Joh ... -Audience/

[Vrede too]

Just wait until the War on Clocks picks up steam . . .

[JTA]

Just wait until the War on Clocks picks up steam . . .

I am perfectly OK with this.

[Vrede too]

Atempero-fascist!

[JTA]

Atempero-fascist!

Why should some corporate whore clock dictate my life. By God if I feel like the work day is over then the work day is over.

[rstrong]

Just wait until the War on Clocks picks up steam . . .

One twitter user summed it up nicely:

An Arab-looking man of Syrian descent in a garage w/his accomplice building what appears to be a bomb. Arrest them.

[Vrede too]

Look how that turned out, http://www.blueridgedebate.com/viewtopi ... its#p53873.

[Boatrocker]

Atempero-fascist!

Why should some corporate whore clock dictate my life. By God if I feel like the work day is over then the work day is over.

Usually hits me about 10:00 AM.

[JTA]

Atempero-fascist!

Why should some corporate whore clock dictate my life. By God if I feel like the work day is over then the work day is over.

Usually hits me about 10:00 AM.

3pm is usually the end of my work day, unbeknownst to others, but I think it's the same for many others, we just don't talk about it.

[O Really]

Here's a couple of good articles about US incarceration practices and effects...
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc ... picks=true

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/arc ... picks=true

I thought of this a few days ago when I was watching a Johnny Cash bio show. He did do a lot of shows in prisons, some of which were in San Quentin. Looking at the crowd of prisoners at his show (early 60s) it was startling to see that almost all of them were white, hardly any had tats, and all had decent haircuts. The guards were also white, and most did not look like Porky. I don't know what you had to do back then to get sent to San Quentin, but these guys looked like regular average people, maybe accountants or sales reps or whatever. I'll bet if you took the same picture now, hardly any of the prisoners would be white.

War on Drugs?
...
.

I would have guessed so, as would Carly F., but apparently we are all wrong... http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/ ... ation.html

[Boatrocker]

Atempero-fascist!

Why should some corporate whore clock dictate my life. By God if I feel like the work day is over then the work day is over.

Usually hits me about 10:00 AM.

3pm is usually the end of my work day, unbeknownst to others, but I think it's the same for many others, we just don't talk about it.

Fershure. While I start getting the urge to be somewhere else about 10:00 AM, it has long been the case that my real productive hours are from 9:00 to 2:00, when I hit the wall. But we start work at 7:00.

[Boatrocker]

I don't think we can parse the issue properly by just classifying the incarcerated by what they were convicted of. We should probably look at what they actually did, instead. That would be a task and a half, and I don't have a guess what it would actually show in terms of violent vs non-violent convictions. But it would be more accurate.

[Vrede too]

War on Drugs? ...

I would have guessed so, as would Carly F., but apparently we are all wrong... http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/ ... ation.html

Not that we can have a lot of faith that what people are convicted of is what they did.
Edit: Opps, Boatrocker already used almost the exact same words. Great minds . . .

“1 Shot Fired by Officer”
The shape-shifting story of a (Durham, North Carolina) cop who pulled over a driver and ended up shooting himself.

... District Attorney Roger Echols, working closely with the police department, then launched a criminal case against Riley—claiming that Riley shot Stewart with Stewart’s gun. The DA kept mounds of evidence away from the jury that proved Stewart shot himself. And he pressed his case against Riley all the way to trial, where Stewart testified, under oath, that he did not shoot his gun.

Earlier this month, a jury acquitted Riley of shooting Stewart, bringing a just end to a deeply troubling story. During the trial, defense attorney Alex Charns repeatedly described the prosecution’s strategy as “a shell game, a cover up, and a railroad.” Examining the evidence, it is nearly impossible to come to any other conclusion....

[O Really]

I know very little about criminal law, but I doubt looking at what was actually done vs. conviction charge would make that much difference in the overall statistics. Certainly there are examples and hypotheticals, such as the woman in Florida (originally) sentenced to 20 years for (what she did) shooting her own floor. But that was largely because of the "three strikes" mandatory sentencing idiocy in Florida, and even so, she eventually walked after appeal. Probably there are some convicted for "assault with a deadly weapon" who swatted at their neighbor with a rake and missed. And there are some convicted through the kangaroo railroad who did nothing, but that's really a separate issue. I'd think most of those who, in the stats, were considered "violent" probably did do something that could reasonably be called violent.

[O Really]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... /73830286/

Here's a tragically sad story about the solitary confinement torture practice. Everybody in the story got out after a long time in solitary - every one of them got thrown back in - one guy basically for a DUI.