Crime and Punishment

Due to the severity of mandatory minimums and the impact it has had
on this country's prison population, it is my opinion that the use
of informants by the government is a shameful disgrace! When you
are dealing with a person's life, and the fact that a drug
conviction, or any conviction with such severe punishment, can mean
the end of that life on the outside every effort should be made by
the government to see to it that the evidence used to gain a
conviction is solid physical evidence gathered through just
unmistakable means. Moreover, where is the power of this country's
government anyway! Look, before cocaine reaches America it must be
growned, harvested, procesed, packaged then shipped into this
country, via air, land, or sea. Who but the government has control
over every entry point into this country? It seems to me if drugs
are a problem the issue for the government to solve is to stop it
before it reaches our communities. It should be clear to all
Americans by now that the current drug policies are not working.
Does America have the funds to house these prisoners, many for the
rest of their natural lives! What happens when they get old and are
in need of expensive medical care? Statistics shows that there are
currently 117 convicitions daily. The prison population is almost
over 2 million. Thus, the current policies have not deterred drug
activities in our communities.