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The scandal is the mainstream press hasn't raised this and related problems in the justice system. They really only have one job, and no amount of "concern" for

The scandal is the mainstream press hasn't raised this and related problems in the justice system. They really only have one job, and no amount of "concern" for political issues is sufficient to compensate for the shameful oversight of issues like this. I'd argue any writer with a Pulitzer should hand it back until they have personally effected change in justice and prison reform. I'm angry that the system works this way, but I'm even angrier that people who do nothing but write for a living get to do so without making this a national priority.

mikeyouse 7y ago
This is silly. The "mainstream press" is nothing more than a mirror. If there were widespread outrage about justice and prison reform, there would be much more coverage of it. There really just isn't much interest, and it's honestly as fervent on the pro-punishment side as the reform side (e.g. Jeff Sessions' disastrous but celebrated term as Attorney General in rolling back progress made at the Federal level: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/jeff-sessions-is-trying-to-take-criminal-justice-back-to-the-1990s/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/jeff-sessions-is-trying...)
alphabettsy 7y ago
As with many other issues in the US, there’s a connection to wealth and race. Civil rights organizations have been talking about this for years with their pleas mostly falling on deaf ears. Some major media started covering it after looking into some of the larger reasons behind the protests in Ferguson, MO. There have been quite a few advocates in the “far-left” political spectrum like Bernie Sanders and some places have ended cash bail. https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-introduces-bill-to-end-money-bail https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sande... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/kalief-browder-cash-bail-reform.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/kalief-browder-c... https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-first-state-to-end-cash-bail https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-... https://www.npr.org/2018/09/02/644085158/what-changed-after-d-c-ended-cash-bail https://www.npr.org/2018/09/02/644085158/what-changed-after-... https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jailed-for-being-broke-72132/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jailed-f... Similar to our newly found compassion for people struggling with drug addiction, this won’t be solved until we stop viewing those affected as “others”. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-you-could-go-to-debtors-prison-in-the-u-s/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-you-could-go-to-debtors-pri... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-debtors-prison-make-a-comeback/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-debtors-prison-make-a-com... https://www.propublica.org/article/a-lawsuit-over-ferguson-debtors-prison-drags-on https://www.propublica.org/article/a-lawsuit-over-ferguson-d... http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/Ferguson-sued-modern-day-debtors-prison http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/Ferguson-sued-modern-day-debtors-... https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/debtors-prison/462378/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/debtors... https://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/313118629/supreme-court-ruling-not-enough-to-prevent-debtors-prisons https://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/313118629/supreme-court-rulin... - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-economy-flails-debtors-prisons-thrive/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-economy-flails-debtors-priso... - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/magazine/cities-fine-poor-jail.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/magazine/cities-fine-poor... It’s not true that’s it’s not been talked about, or even that it’s not covered by mainstream media. Many people are not paying attention and some mainstream media are actively against criminal justice reform. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-criminal-justice-reform-enforcement https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-criminal-just... It’s a political issue and a human rights issue, but politics is often reduced to sound bites with few taking the effort to really understand an issue and support those working to change it. There are also unsurprising contradictions. The Trump administration signed legislation that addresses sentencing disparities in the war on drugs while simultaneously resuming federal death penalty executions even while its been widely reported that possibly more than 1 in 10 of those of death row are innocent.

mikeyouse 7y ago

This is silly. The "mainstream press" is nothing more than a mirror. If there were widespread outrage about justice and prison reform, there would be much more coverage of it. There really just isn't much interest, and it's honestly as fervent on the pro-punishment side as the reform side (e.g. Jeff Sessions' disastrous but celebrated term as Attorney General in rolling back progress made at the Federal level: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/jeff-sessions-is-trying-to-take-criminal-justice-back-to-the-1990s/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/jeff-sessions-is-trying...)

alphabettsy 7y ago

As with many other issues in the US, there’s a connection to wealth and race. Civil rights organizations have been talking about this for years with their pleas mostly falling on deaf ears. Some major media started covering it after looking into some of the larger reasons behind the protests in Ferguson, MO. There have been quite a few advocates in the “far-left” political spectrum like Bernie Sanders and some places have ended cash bail. https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-introduces-bill-to-end-money-bail https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sande... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/kalief-browder-cash-bail-reform.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/kalief-browder-c... https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-first-state-to-end-cash-bail https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-... https://www.npr.org/2018/09/02/644085158/what-changed-after-d-c-ended-cash-bail https://www.npr.org/2018/09/02/644085158/what-changed-after-... https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jailed-for-being-broke-72132/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jailed-f... Similar to our newly found compassion for people struggling with drug addiction, this won’t be solved until we stop viewing those affected as “others”. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-you-could-go-to-debtors-prison-in-the-u-s/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-you-could-go-to-debtors-pri... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-debtors-prison-make-a-comeback/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-debtors-prison-make-a-com... https://www.propublica.org/article/a-lawsuit-over-ferguson-debtors-prison-drags-on https://www.propublica.org/article/a-lawsuit-over-ferguson-d... http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/Ferguson-sued-modern-day-debtors-prison http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/Ferguson-sued-modern-day-debtors-... https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/debtors-prison/462378/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/debtors... https://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/313118629/supreme-court-ruling-not-enough-to-prevent-debtors-prisons https://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/313118629/supreme-court-rulin... - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-economy-flails-debtors-prisons-thrive/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-economy-flails-debtors-priso... - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/magazine/cities-fine-poor-jail.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/magazine/cities-fine-poor... It’s not true that’s it’s not been talked about, or even that it’s not covered by mainstream media. Many people are not paying attention and some mainstream media are actively against criminal justice reform. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-criminal-justice-reform-enforcement https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-criminal-just... It’s a political issue and a human rights issue, but politics is often reduced to sound bites with few taking the effort to really understand an issue and support those working to change it. There are also unsurprising contradictions. The Trump administration signed legislation that addresses sentencing disparities in the war on drugs while simultaneously resuming federal death penalty executions even while its been widely reported that possibly more than 1 in 10 of those of death row are innocent.