Steve Harvey

So follow that line of thinking to it's logical conclusion, only substitute "men" for any other groups that dominate the prison population ... or terrorist organizations, or whatever ...

Well, yeah. Men are numbskulls.

Because... It's the PRISONERS who are 92 percent male, not the population in itself.

Trying to make the point that crimes are committed at a greater rate within certain groups.

If the law says " Do not do X" and one group does it more often than another, the problem is not with the law.

ROFL!!! Good try.

These are actual figures from the US Dept of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sept. 2015. It's also why the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We imprison people for bad behavior.

Well duh. Is there another reason?

Yes. . . actual criminal acts. . . not just getting high and peeing in the alley.

LOL. Getting high is defined as a criminal act involving bad behavior. So is urinating in public.

But. . . it doesn't have to be criminal. This is just "social control". There are no victims in these so-called "crimes". It may be normal in our fascist police state but it doesn't make it right.

If you're urinating on my storefront, you're driving away customers. That's not "victimless." If you're doing cocaine or meth, you're a drain on society and probably committing other criminal acts because you can't keep a job. That's not "victimless."

"Victimless crime" is a popular term, used by people with absolutely no standards whatsoever, to justify crimes that really DO have victims ... the victims just aren't shot or abused physically, but they are affected. You want a victimless crime? Steal your own money.

Well, if you don't mind that the U.S. imprisons more citizens than the Soviet Union ever did. . . then who am I to argue. I, however, prefer a little more freedom in my country.

Nope. Don't mind a bit. We have laws for a reason. And I don't break 'em. (also, just FYI, the Soviet Union went ahead and killed their people ... apples/oranges)

So. . . you've never run a red light? You've never smoked dope? You've never had sex on a beach? You've never cheated on your taxes? In some states, oral sex is illegal. Have you ever. . . ?

LOL! Typical equivalency arguments. Not even worth a response. You're just wasting my time at this point ...

How many of these were lesser charges because of plea bargaining, just for a start, drug crimes is a VERY wide area, and those convicted did a lot more than sat in the backyard rolling a doobie.

There are "mandatory minimums" for drug charges plus the "3 strikes you're out" laws. Pot smokers can have longer prison sentences than rapists.

First, you need to understand what plea bargaining is/does and why it is used, OFTEN to AVOID minimum sentencing guidelines. Again, no one...NO ONE goes to prison for rolling a doobie in their backyard. I know it gives you gas for your righteous indignation engine but it is as real as "hands up don't shoot" which you're probably unaware that it didn't happen either.

For simple possession, first offenders in Kentucky get two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. The average sentence for rape is 81/2 year in prison.

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by 90 days to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $500.
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/kentucky-misdemeanor-crimes-class-and-sentences.htm

(Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 532.020, 532.090, 534.040.) For example, possession of four or fewer marijuana plants is a Class A misdemeanor in Kentucky.
Sale: Under 8 oz.: Class A misdemeanor; Subsequent offense: Class D felony

Your source is incorrect as a 2 minute web search would have shown you.
Next, jail is not prison, I have as a contractor spent time working in both. While the laws may well be on the books, the possession law is most often used as a plea tool to downgrade from a larger offense.
Lastly... it happens to be the law, this is such a lame argument.

I wonder if Sandi2 would be FOR mandatory sentences for r- a- p- e?

I don't think so, concrete things like facts seem to create a problem.

No, it's not a problem John. I just don't like to argue with people who don't understand that Drug Possession is a federal offense. . . not a misdemeanor. Now that more states are fighting Federal Laws on marijuana helps. . . but they're only just starting to relax on marijuana charges. All other drug possession charges are felonies. . . not misdemeanors.

You just made my point. Charles Manson was in prison from childhood through his adulthood. He wasn't rehabilitated as a child so he became a psychopath as an adult.

I'm not for "mandatory" anything. I believe in absolute freedom. I don't believe in prisons at all. I'm for compassionate rehabilitation. Prison only turns confused people into sociopaths. If they weren't screwed up when they went in they sure will be when they come out.

It's generally directed at siblings and pets. His behavioral issues were present even before his first detainment.

Manson's mom was a drunk who once sold him for a pitcher of beer. There are no "siblings" or "pets" ever mentioned in his childhood. Manson's first offense was stealing a bicycle. He was then sent to "Boys Town"--the place infamous for the physical and sexual abuse of children. Manson escaped and, at 13 was sent to the Indiana Boy's School where he was brutalize sexually again. He escaped there, stole a car and crossed state lines where he was convicted of a federal offense and sent to the National Training School for Boys. . . a Federal Juvenile Prison. . . where his IQ tested him at 109 but he was still illiterate. At 21, he was labeled "anti-social".

I have no issues with spreading love, peace etc, but I can't get beyond how unrealistic your goals are. I welcome all, and will behave decently to all, even those who disagree with me. The moment when you called me a liar and then dared to insinuate I have no idea what its like to have nothing is when you went too far. Just because I'm an older white man you made assumptions.
By the way in that response comment to the "liar" part, that should have said "manipulate people as early as age 4", my brain was moving faster than my fingers.

My goals are not at all unrealistic. The society of massive incarceration only began in the late 1970s and peaked in the late 1990s. Today, you can go to jail for "non-compliance". Imagine. . . not obeying a stranger in a uniform is a crime. That's just wrong.

Up to the 70s and 80s non-compliance got you a rap with a baton or a gun butt and then taken to jail. What's your point? You're laying cover for those with something to hide, generally drugs. Drug abuse is not victimless I know better 1st hand.

We should have learned from Prohibition that the Drug War was only going to cause a rise in organized crime and violence in the streets. Mandatory Minimums only destroys true justice by tying the hands of the judges and juries. Militarizing the Police Force only turns communities into war zones.

I am picking apart my comments, I was speaking in generalities about sociopathy, but that obviously was not clear, and should have differentiated between what was documented and the generalities. I will welcome the opportunity to continue in a more civil tone.

His psych profile showed lying and manipulating pets as early as age 4. However my question still remains, do you want him free in your house, your city your state? Your victimless crimes drugs, and I will add alcohol contribute greatly to the problem. You want a life without consequence. I hope for yours and everyone else's sake it never happens. We basically had that in the old west. It led to vigilante justice and lynching which will happen where there is no law. Your utopia will never exist.

You're lying. Charles Manson had no pets and was a blank slate until the prison industry turned him into a psychopath. If you had given Manson to me when he was a child I would have raised him with discipline softened with love. And. . . Manson did grow up in my state. I wonder. . . have you ever been poor? Have you ever experienced what it's like to live in the U.S. without money? Do you have any clue what it's like to have to struggle to survive? Have you ever been without hope of any kind of future?

I see you're not so quick now with the silly quips and know it all attitude...

I don't do "silly quips". It's not, and never has been, my style.

If you read what I said originally it said "generally" not Manson. You have no idea how many times I've been desperate with no money no food. I've been a single dad for 11 years with a good for nothing alcoholic ex wife. Don't even try to get into my head, your silly ass has no damned clue. I dropped out of high school thanks to drugs and alcohol. I haven't touched drugs in almost 30 years and alcohol I'm celebrating 16 years in 2 weeks. I went back and got my diploma. You can peddle your bullshit hugs and love fix everything bullshit elsewhere, you are what the people I used to run with would have called a moron to put it nicely, then beat the hell out of you and took everything you had to give.

Well, when I was left with 2 young children I pulled up my boot straps, went to college, got a degree, and finished raising my kids on a farm. I've walked to
work because I couldn't afford a car and a babysitter at the same time. . . I've been homeless. . . I've lived in the "projects" and had to take food stamps. When my kids grew up, I backpacked across the U.S. in order to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Today, I help raise my grandchildren and help educate my fellow Americans to reality.

I like that you welcomed me when I came here. But, I came here because I had reached all I could reach on the News Comment Sites. I needed a new audience to teach. I understand I'm dealing with younger, more distracted members of society. . . but I thought that you, being not much younger that myself, would be more supportive of my work.