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I agree that the jails and prisons are over flowing in this country, but that is not the fault of judges sending people to jail, you want to blame someone, blame a society that said it's OK to break the law because you're really just a victim (Clinton).

No. Bottom line is we have way too many people in prisons and jails. It is foolishness and a waste. Our legal system has become very little about "punishment" and all about a bureaucracy that must feed itself by growing ever larger.

Violent criminals should be in jail. Well over 50% of our jails and prisons are full of people where society would be much better off...if we would find uses and productive punishments for them instead of simply filling up space and further bloating our legal systems already ridiculous large budgets.

It has nothing to do about being "rich" like you are suggesting. There are a tremendous about of rich, poor and middle-class people in jail that need not be there.....Yet like students in public schools the system makes money off of putting people there....so more people are put there (plain and simple).

I'll agree with you about the jails and prison, we would be better served to put money into prevention and rehabilitation. If you send a nonviolent offender to prison there is almost a 90% chance that they will become violent offenders. But, Rome wasn't built over night and we cant tie the hands of the legal system by telling them not to punish people because the jails are too full.

I didn't check your home page so I don't know what state you are in, but if you live in a state like Texas where this is a hot issue, come up with some ideas and go to your county primary meetings, if you have good ideas to change the system, they will make it to the state level. Here in Texas we keep getting hit with Federal Mandates to change our Prisons and the state really has no good ideas on how to fix it.

Our Sheriff has set up tents to house overflow from the jail. And in the Florida sun, that's gotta be the pits. It can be done and it can be done rather inexpensively as the sheriff from Arizona has shown us. Recidivism is waaaaay down when you emphasize punishment. She needs a dose of it and we can’t wait for others to get to the violent stage before sending them to the pen. I say hit them hard on the FIRST offense, as long as it is no picnic for them.

Well, the idea that we have too many people in prison is your opinion of course. This is part of an ongoing debate of what prison is all about. Fortunately for people that think like I do, prison isn’t about reform. It isn’t about just keeping violent people away from others. It is about punishment. Do the crime, do the time; and all that. I don’t think it is at all wasteful.

Paris is a poster child for someone that needs to go to jail. Clearly she is a scofflaw. She has zero respect for the law. He mother laughing at the idea that her daughter belongs in jail. Wow. I am reminded of Leona Helmsley stating that “only little people pay taxes”. A fine isn’t good enough for her. She ignored demands for rehab. Rehabilitation was tried for this woman and it didn’t work. At some point one must be forced. In my opinion punishment is completely proper.

For Paris I can almost guarantee that taking away her freedom for 45 days will change her life. I would guess that she will never break the law again. She isn’t some person committing crimes because of drug addiction. She appears to be someone who just doesn’t have any desire to follow the law.