The exception to the 13th Amendment. Death row inmate Ray Jasper, who has never used the internet, wrote an article that went viral. Part of his appeal is that he made it sound like he was innocent. Not true, it turns out he slit a man’s throat. But what stuck out to me, was his description of the prison system. First off, he was the only black ... MORE
Exposed by failure. Economists specializing in international development have
identified what they call the "resource curse": Contrary to
expectations, an abundance of lucrative natural resources is often
associated with poor economic performance. Although you'd think
that sitting on trillions of gallons of oil would make your ... MORE
by Steven Greenhut. Leaders in the nation’s two most populous states have waged a rhetorical grudge match over their respective political approaches. In California, dominant Democrats are proud of their efforts to pioneer social and environmental policy. In Texas, majority Republicans boast about their commitment to business ... MORE 
If the people lead, leaders will follow. 2013 will go down in history as the beginning of the end of our disastrous war on drugs. Fifty-eight percent of Americans nationally support marijuana legalization. World leaders like former U.N. head Kofi Annan are calling for an end to the drug war. U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., is ... MORE
Who says government fails to stimulate growth? The number of federal prison inmates has grown 27 percent in the last decade, according the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In a report examining the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) budget, the GAO found that prison population is rising: The Department of Justice’s ... MORE
Nelson Mandela's commitment to liberty. A Martian visiting earth this week, coasting TV channels and perusing papers, would have to conclude that among the items that most interest this planet’s news bureaus is the plight of former political prisoners, especially black ones. Well, many Cubans (many of them black) suffered longer and ... MORE
Thousands serve life sentence for nonviolent offenses. Nine years ago, Ronald Washington swiped two Michael Jordan jerseys from a Foot Locker in Shreveport, Louisiana. Although the shirts were on sale for $45 each, they were officially priced at $60, putting their combined value above $100. The difference between the discounted price and ... MORE
by Jess Remington. The ACLU released a new
report this week examining the growing trend of judges
sentencing nonviolent offenders to life in prison without parole.
The ACLU found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the War on Drugs,
mandatory minimums, and “tough-on-crime” policies are to blame. The report,
A Living Death: A Life Without Parole ... MORE
Lives needlessly ruined by rigid sentencing. I applaud President Obama’s recognition that mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders needs to end. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s announcement Monday to change federal drug-sentencing policy hopefully signaled a significant shift toward justice in ... MORE
Why doesn't Obama pardon more drug offenders? This week Eric Holder said something that critics of our criminal justice system have been saying for decades but no other U.S. attorney general has managed to say while still in office. “Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement ... MORE