>>>>We have a three strikes system. California has more people in prison doing life for smoking pot than for murder.
>>>
>>>
>>>That's a good place for them, but I doubt that's true, especially with all those "medicinal marijuana" fraud shops out there. We have a "swing away" policy. Third strike, well try again, maybe you can hit a homer before the 50th strike.
>>
>>
>>Everyone wants to be "tough on crime" but the three strikes and you're out system has led to some wacky outcomes in CA. There was one guy who was sent away for life for stealing videos from a store. No, he shouldn't have stolen the videos, but the punishment was way out of proportion to the crime.
>
>Yeah, that sounds a little extreme. I prefer a progressive disciplinary system. Every time they get convicted, the punishment screws should get tightened. It's all about changing behavior.


Maybe I'm wrong about this but it seems like the pendulum was swung away from rehabilitation to punishment, and the more punitive the better. I know there are some hard core criminals who will probably never be rehabilitated. That doesn't mean we should take a "lock 'em up and throw away the key" approach to every jaywalker. Incarceration rate is another negative category in which we lead the civilized world.