Text 26048, 79 rader
Skriven 2007-01-04 06:22:19 av John Hull (1:123/789.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Alan Hess
Ärende: how to stop this?
=========================
Alan Hess -> VERN HUMPHREY wrote:
 AH> Whilst masticating on <Jan 02 07>, VERN HUMPHREY (1:123/140)
 AH> wrote to ALAN HESS:

 AH>>> As this article states, most of the murders in Baltimore are
 AH>>> black perpetrat killing black victims in poor neighborhoods, drugs
 AH>>> are usually involved, and both killer and victim usually have
 AH>>> records.  I'd venture that the same is t in other cities.  Other
 AH>>> than legalizing some of the popular drugs (marijuana cocaine in
 AH>>> its various forms, narcotics, some amphetamines, barbiturates), w
 AH>>> can be done to reduce these murders?  Baltimore has a lot of nice
 AH>>> areas, but also has some areas that are horrendous, and I feel
 AH>>> sorry for the decent peo who live in those areas (yes, there are
 AH>>> some, as they can't afford to get ou

 VH>> I don't know if you recall, Alan, but I did a study on murder
 VH>> years ago right on Fido, using newspaper articles.

 AH> I seem to recall you doing that.  Not all the details, unfortunately.

 VH>> I'm not convinced we can solve the problem by legalizing drugs.
 VH>> What jumped out at me from the study is how killers have a violent
 VH>>  history, and how the police and courts simply fail to act to
 VH>> incapacitate these violent people.

 AH> Legalizing drugs wouldn't solve the problem by itself - I just think it
 AH> would reduce the problem, as the repeal of Prohibition eliminated the
 AH> most of the crime related to it (the suppliers of illegal booze couldn't
 AH> match the price or quality of the legal stuff; legal sellers of alcohol
 AH> didn't kill each other in turf wars, or kill users who were behind in
 AH> payments; alcohol abusers and users were directed to treatment rather
 AH> than jailed.)  Too many people are currently in jail for simple drug
 AH> possession - they weren't harming anyone, but they possessed a banned
 AH> substance.  And people wonder why violent criminals are paroled - it's
 AH> lack of space in the prisons.


What makes you think that it would reduce crime?  Most muggings, burglaries,
and other so-called minor crimes are carried out by people looking for money to
get a fix.  Those are also the same people who are the strung out abusers, who
get more vicious and unpredictable as they get more desperate for their fix.

The way to fix the drug problem is to make selling addictive drugs a death
penalty offense.  That would have an immediate effect on the problem just like
legalizing concealed carry of handguns has an immediate effect on major crimes
in every state where that has been enacted.  Eliminate the dealers by either
killing them off or scaring them out of business and you eliminate the users at
the same time.

Of course, the liberals will never have the guts to do anything like that. 
They'll continue to waste money on social fixes that never work, and other feel
good bandaid fixes.


 VH>> One killer, you may recall, sat in jail in DC for over a year and
 VH>> never came to trial.  Finally, at one trial date, the prosecutors
 VH>> sent in a list of excuses why he wasn't ready, and the defense
 VH>> attorney moved for dismissal -- the defendant's right to a speedy
 VH>> trial had been violated.

 VH>> In less than three months, this monster had choked a victim into
 VH>> unconsciousness, and when the victim seemed to be coming around,
 VH>> he choked him again.  Then he shot at police who dared to
 VH>> interfere with another armed robbery, and fially capped it off by
 VH>> killing a rival in an ambush.

 AH> Such a person deserves prison (or worse.)  Perhaps the prosecutor would
 AH> have had fewer cases to deal with if he wasn't prosecuting people for
 AH> drug possession (people who also had the right to a speedy trial), and
 AH> thus would have had more time to focus on this case and other cases of
 AH> violent crime.

As long as the lawyers are running the system, that isn't going to change. 
Prison is no fun, but it doesn't scare criminals the way it ought to.  Between
plea bargaining, and judges who won't enforce sentencing guidelines, the
prisons have become revolving door day camps in this country.

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