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Problems That Can't Be Cured in Prison
Problems That Can't Be Cured In Prison
Our society's criminal justice system is being used to treat or hide some serious social ills. Poverty, drug addiction, and alcoholism are intimately tied to the crimes for which most inmates in the federal system are serving time. Of those sentenced to federal prison in 1987, 42% were sentenced for drug related crimes. Yet resources are not available - in or out of prison - for programs that address these ills directly. The Justice Department, for example, recently reported that nine out of ten people who seek treatment in drug abuse programs are turned away for lack of space.
Our society's criminal justice system is being used to treat or hide some serious social ills. Poverty, drug addiction, and alcoholism are intimately tied to the crimes for which most inmates in the federal system are serving time. Of those sentenced to federal prison in 1987, 42% were sentenced for drug related crimes. Yet resources are not available - in or out of prison - for programs that address these ills directly. The Justice Department, for example, recently reported that nine out of ten people who seek treatment in drug abuse programs are turned away for lack of space.
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