Lock 'em Up Philosophy has Reprecussions

An article by Stuart Taylor demonstrates how

damaging the mandatory minimum sentencing

and other "lock 'em up" statutes have been to

segments of American society.

While the pending Supreme Court case on life-without-

parole terms for juveniles gets lots of attention, "the

damage done by America's prison binge over the past

30 to 40 years dwarfs the importance of all of the Court's

pending criminal cases," says National Journal columnist

Stuart Taylor. Blacks are imprisoned at a rate eight times

as high as whites, and nearly 60 percent of black male

high school dropouts, and nearly 30 percent of all black men

(if current trends continue), will spend time behind bars --

far more than in the worst days of segregation, he says.

Fear of appearing "soft on crime" prevents legislators from

amending laws so that the vicious predators are kept in

prison and the non-violent offenders get the opportunity

to turn their lives around.