Posts tagged human rights

If you guessed America - give yourself a cookie.  According to the Human Rights Watch campaign:

• The United States is now the only country in the world that imposes this sentence on youth for crimes committed under age 18.[8]
• The number of youth sentenced to life without parole in the US has risen to 2,570. [9]
• The number of youth sentenced to life without parole in California increased from 227 to 301. [10]

Want to play guess the socio-economic status?  I bet this quiz is too easy for you.

As long as private prisons spend millions a year lobbying for tougher and mandatory sentencing people will be given unreasonable terms in prison.  When did the idea of rehabilitation completely dissipate from our collective conscious?  Do we really think juveniles are incorrigible, that they will never grow up or change?

I work with juveniles, and yes, they may seem incorrigible.  They all seem to have moments when logic and reason do not apply to them.  And, that is the key, they all seem to have these moments - a lot.  They tend to be reactory.  What a surprise, teenagers tend to act like teenagers and make mistakes.  In truth, all people, no matter their age, have moments of complete stupidity.  But, as we age, these moments are more fleeting, most of us gain more control.  We change.  I am not the same person I was at 5, 15, or 25.  I am not the person I will be at 35, 45, or 55.  Why does it seem to obvious to me?  People do horrible things.  But, a horrible act at the age of 16, can not be the only defining moment of a person who lives to 80.

I shall exit before I really begin to rant.

Like a thief scuttling through the night, I troll Human Rights Watch looking for proof we are truly human and not a monstrous race of cannibals feeding off the life force of our beloved.  And like a thief, I never hit the big score, the score that quells my insatiable hunger for proof of our humanity.  I return to my den with a sack of trinkets, hints of humanity that pale in comparison with the horrors I witnessed.

“The extraordinary size of the US jail and prison population—almost 2.3 million, the world’s largest [26] —reflects the inevitable consequences of more than three decades of “tough on crime” policies.” - Human Rights Campaign

This report focused on the problems associated with an aged prison population.  Can you imagine spending 50 years in prison for crime, at times for a non-violent crime?  We treat people, who refuse or are unable to follow the status-quot, as dispensable.  Sadly, there is little surprising information in this article - over-crowding, limited health care, unsanitary conditions…  Basic dignity is taken away from so people in America, how can we live with ourselves when we treat each other this way?  No matter what a person does, they are still people.  We should judge ourselves based on how we care for those we, or at least society, has deemed incorrigible.  Only when we treat everyone with dignity can we call ourselves civilized.

I have much to say and will blog later tonight.

(Source: The Huffington Post)

This proud country has sentenced an 11 year old to life in prison. Nothing more to say.

(Source: BBC)

Blood-sucking-capitalist-hate mongers is the most accurate description of the law firm of Steven J. Baum I can come up with.  This lovely article details how this ‘fore-closure mill’ law firm celebrated last Halloween.  Employees dressed as the homeless, made shanty towns, and generally revelled in the misery of others.  This short article does more to explain the evils of capitalism than almost any text I could recommend.

(Source: The New York Times)