By Just a Guy
Editors note: Just A Guy was until recently an inmate in a California state prison. He was released in November and continues to comment on criminal justice issues.
Gary Dickson is the publisher and editor of the Lake County Record-Bee. On Dec. 4th, he wrote he wrote this moronic opinion piece.
You can contact him at gdickson@record-bee.com or 263-5636, ext. 24.
I don’t disagree with a couple of things that Dickson says, but the following excerpt makes me cringe:
“I do believe in the concept of parole when the terms of the program are dictated at the time of the sentencing, as long as the earliest date for parole comes after the prisoner has spent enough time behind bars for the crime committed.”
What is enough time behind bars? Come on — all those guys doing life terms for victimless crimes, when is enough time for them? For that matter, anyone doing time for victimless crimes! What about the lifers who have reached well past their minimums? When have they spent “enough” time behind bars?
He also says:
“I don’t believe in pardons, commutations and early releases for three basic reasons. They are too subjective, they make a mockery of the judicial system and they are unfair. What I mean by subjective is that a president or governor will release someone because they know them or know of their situation, while there are thousands of others who might actually offer more to society after a pardon.“
This brings me to the lifer issue again. You think that parole boards are fair? That they are totally objective? You’re kidding me, right?
According to Dickson, Mike Huckabee must have known Maurice Clemmons (or of his situation), that’s why he commuted his sentence. The statement in and of itself is ludicrous, “because they…know of their situation.” Dumbass, of course the pardoner knows of their situation, how else would he or she be able to grant a pardon? Jeez. Another thing, how is granting a pardon mocking the judicial system? Isn’t the system supposedly built around the idea of justice? Can there justice without forgiveness?
Dickson goes on to write,
“what message is sent, concerning our system of laws and the penalties for violation of those laws, when inmates are allowed to go free before paying their full debt to society for their transgression(s)?”
Gary, what message is sent to who? The rest of the world — and a good portion of the rest of the United States — already thinks that California is filled with a bunch of self-serving idiots too afraid of their political futures to do the right thing. There are nearly 170,000 people in prison in California, about 20% are in for crimes that don’t have a victim. Another chunk is filled with people (lifers) who have reached well past their minimum terms, but are being refused parole (I guess parole boards are completely objective in your world, Gary).
Unfair to the victim? My paperwork said my victim was the State of California because I possessed a little bit of cocaine. Unfair huh — like it would really be hurting the State’s feelings if I got out early.
There are lots of people in prison for crimes that do have victims, but don’t go around playing victim’s advocate as if everyone in prison actually has a victim. And how is it fair that crimes people committed 20 or 30 years ago are used against them today? People get life sentences for things like possession that had absolutely nothing to do with a crime they were convicted of 15 years ago — a crime that’s not even violent (let alone a crime).
The thing Dickson failed to point out is that all the people they are talking about letting out are getting out anyway. Is it really going to matter if they get out 6 months or a year early? Do you think that some person is not going to reoffend if they do 3.2 years vs. 2.8 years? Is it even considered that the meager amount of money spent on rehabilitation might have something to do with recidivism?
The solution is simple, always has been always will be: legalize drugs. Of course, there are many who will say that it won’t help blah, blah, blah…but look at the other industrialized nations where there drug laws make sense and compare their prison populations to ours. The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.
California in particular is like the worst kind of addict/alcoholic because they admit they have a problem, but are so far gone into their addiction they can’t do anything about it. Just like the addict that can’t stop, California is not being arrested by the Three Judge Panel, but being rescued.