NCJ Number
156739
Journal
Criminal Justice Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1991) Pages: 34-36
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article first examines the crisis in corrections in America due to the high rate of offender incarceration and suggests ways in which bar association leaders can influence the development of more rational and effective corrections policies.
Abstract
According to a new report from the Sentencing Project, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Approximately $16 billion a year is spent to incarcerate persons in prisons and jails. This prison crowding takes money away from other domestic programs, such as education, job training, and other programs that could help address the social and economic ills that spawn criminal behavior. In an effort to address the corrections crisis, the American Bar Association has supported alternatives to incarceration, urged that facilities meet constitutional and professional standards, called for adoption of prison and jail impact statements, opposed mandatory minimum sentences, called for efforts to better implement adult and juvenile correctional education programs, and create a Special Committee on the Drug Crisis to consider whether the current approach to the drug crisis is appropriate. This article suggests how local and State bar associations can influence corrections policies in their jurisdictions.