Obama looks to reform the "injustice system".

These changes will be a good thing for America, it obviously won't solve all social problems but at least it will give non violent people caught up in the circle of drugs a chance to get ahead in life, steer them onto the path of a bright future, instead of more jail time.

“Any system that allows us to turn a blind eye to hopelessness and despair, that’s not a justice system, it is an injustice system,” he said.

The president called for:

• lowering – if not ending – mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses
• restoring the voting rights of ex-felons
• revisiting hiring practices that require applicants to list criminal activity
• expanding job training programs so inmates are better prepared to reintegrate into society"

full article here

All that needs to happen to solve most of the issues with the prison system is eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for victimless crimes.

"Obama laid out a comprehensive approach to reforming a system that is stacked against black and Hispanic communities in particular – most of which would require Congress to take action – during an impassioned speech"

"The president called for:

• lowering – if not ending – mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses
• restoring the voting rights of ex-felons
• revisiting hiring practices that require applicants to list criminal activity
• expanding job training programs so inmates are better prepared to reintegrate into society"

Regarding those^^^

• He should grow a pair and call for the legalization of marihuana and commute the sentence of everyone incarcerated for merely possession. Other drugs should be legalize/decriminalized.
• Yes.
• No.
• Depends on the details.

That is not all that needs to happen at all.

@Master_Live: hey dude i stole your bullet points hope you dont mind? I should have included those points in my opening post in the first place for those who haven't the time to read the article. Thanks

Considering how ambitious the undertaking is and the kind of customary fierce push-back the proposal will get from a republican majority congress, I doubt Obama will get any of this done before his incumbency expires. I suspect this is one last attempt to beef up his legacy before leaving the presidency.

The United States Prison Industry INC is a system of slave labor that grants favors of cheap labor to connected criminals (check it out - do some research - they even ignore unfair competition laws) and a system designed to maximize recidivism.

The criminals in charge got so greedy they bought laws through sleazy politicians to increase incarceration rates for petty crimes and manipulated State taxpayers into not just spending - but borrowing Billions - to build the prisons for them - at the taxpayers expense in a way that bypassed State voters mandated bond limitations.

The United States Prison Industry is a slightly watered down version of black sites.

I've managed to stay out of prison for 29 years. That shit is hard work

Everyone including the President missed a big one close 3/4 of the law schools. There's were all of this come from. You mentioned criminal listing convictions on job applications. You also have to get rid of the laws regarding not asking them if you don't. It is a catch 22 for employers.

Too bad his word's not worth much.

ROFL

Well for starters, don't people think that it is alittle fucking crazy we have for profit private prisons whose sole purpose is to get as many prisoners as possible? That seems to be a extremely glaring point of corruption right there.. Another part is the entire bullshit with things like civil forfeiture, which a police officer can literally shake a person down for large amounts of money with out a legitimate reason to confiscate it.

lowering – if not ending – mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses

Should be decriminalized altogether, but a great step.

restoring the voting rights of ex-felons

Not a bad idea, although hopefully it would require some period of time along with some kind of proof the person has made a positive change in their life. For instance, after 2 years with no criminal activity and having held a job for some period of time.

revisiting hiring practices that require applicants to list criminal activity

I'm not sure what that will ential, but certainly criminal activity is relevant to people hiring. If I am doing hiring at a bank the fact someone was sent to jail for fraud/theft I def need to know that.

expanding job training programs so inmates are better prepared to reintegrate into society

That's a good idea, along with changes to sentencing (for non-violent crimes) I def would like to see us look at ways to reduce recidivism.

There is no such thing as an ex-felon. You can be a felon that has completed serving your sentence, but you are still a felon. Always will be.

Beyond that.... what confuses me about this is it seems almost every time I hear about rough, inner-city neighborhoods, people lament "the drug problem."

"Oh, he would have been a good boy but he was living in a neighborhood where drugs are rampant...." and so on.

So, are these communities going to be helped by easing punishment for drug dealers? Doesn't make any sense to me.

Then again, so little makes sense to me these days.

If the person has served his sentence I don't see any legitimate reason to deny them the right to vote.

Depends on the crime...if someone was sent to prison for terrorism/murder/rape/pedophilia/etc, for instance, I think that's a legitimate reason they shouldn't be allowed to vote. I view voting as more of a responsibility and that it should be exercised by a responsible and informed electorate. To be honest while I don't agree with how the founders implemented the system (only white, male land owners) I think they also understood democratic government is only as good as it's electorate. I cringe every time I see ads compelling people to vote as that's somehow patriotic for people who didn't have any intention on voting in the first place and were convinced by some stupid MTV get out the vote ad to rush out to the polls without having any idea of what they are really voting for is a good thing. It's not a good thing, in fact, I think it's a big part of why we are in the mess we are in (two party system, congress lowest approval numbers ever yet still keep getting elected, etc).

I don't think we should go back to only land owners being able to vote and anything like that, but I happen to agree with felony disenfranchised laws. If someone can't even function in society without breaking the laws, and were talking felonies here...not misdemeanors...well...I don't think they are responsible enough to vote. Not without at least having a couple years back in society without breaking any laws and showing they are once again functioning part of society.

why is it always "non-violent drug offenders" that the "reformers" want to help, why not also include other non-violent offenders such as tax evaders?

@ariabed: that would be great in my opinion, the justice system is so flawed in the US

Stating the obvious; I guess that's what passes for a decent President these days.

It is PR statement. Nothing more.

Yeah.

Oh, boy. Here we go. I am sure we'll hear from the other side how the only problem is that

What the hell does this have to do with anything? There are plenty of dopes across this country who buy a gun every single day because they make irrational decisions based on fear instead of fact, buying into the lie that it will make them safer.

Is it that hard? There are 320,000,000 people in the country with only 2,000,000 in jail. What's that, a little more than 1/2 of 1% of the population? I did lol at your post, however :)

While I agree Tax Evaders shouldn't get punished so harshly anymore (like prison and such,) another stupid law that proves the justice system is flawed/outdated is the criminal offense for resisting arrest. No one should get extended jail time for that, because its quite clear the civilian could have had good reason to resist arrest, definitely not all the cases and decisions of police officers arresting the civilians is legit.

@magicalclick: my post was quite clear. Any home owner who thinks a gun makes then safer, despite all evidence to the contrary is a dope who makes decisions based off of emotion, instead of reason.

Don't know what you mean by the rest of the world. I never mentioned it...

If it's justice that interests him then he should turn himself in for prosecution as a war criminal.

I think the person who hires you has a right to know if you have any criminal history against your name, hell I wouldn't want a thief or murderer working for my company.

Maybe they should get alarm systems. I don't care what they do, but the statistics demonstrate quite clearly that a gun in the home does not make you one bit safer, and instead makes you less safe. That's just simple reality.

It doesn't really matter and is quite irrelevant. The fact still remains that the gun does not make them safer, having the opposite effect.

You should not have derailed this thread in the first place.