The quote in this diary's headline comes from yet another
excellent article by Nicholas Kristof, this one entitled, "Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons?" Kristof begins the article by asking, "At a time when we Americans may abandon health care reform because it supposedly is 'too expensive,' how is it that we can afford to imprison people like Curtis Wilkerson?" (serving a life sentence - that's right, a LIFE SENTENCE! - "for stealing a $2.50 pair of socks"). Yes, it's idiocy like this - not to mention a huge waste of money - that makes this the time "for a fundamental re-evaluation of the criminal justice system, as legislation sponsored by Senator Jim Webb has called for, so that we’re no longer squandering money that would be far better spent on education or health." Which brings us to the great quote by Senator Webb:
“There are only two possibilities here,” Mr. Webb said in introducing his bill, noting that America imprisons so many more people than other countries. “Either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States, or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.”
Hmmmm....something tells me we don't have "the most evil people on earth living in the United States." So what other option does that leave? Man, this is hard...someone help me out here. Wait, could it be the second part of Webb's quote, the one that I bolded above? Eureka! :)
