hey right of freedom. Inmates still need the ability to hold their families together. “Prison cost continues to rise with the implementation of the 1994 crime bill, which pressures states to adopt harder sentencing guidelines, and includes a “three strike” mandatory life sentence provision for three-time violent offenders.”(Dilulio, John. 23) These measures will swell the prison walls which are already bursting with non-violent offenders. According to James Q. Wilson, of the University of California at Los Angeles, in the next decade, one million boys ranging from fourteen-to-seventeen will be in our population. “At least six percent of those will commit violent crimes. That means 30,000 more young killers, rapists, and thieves. Some of them will be what John Dilulio calls "super-predators" - a new variety of young criminal who had no adult in their life and no apparent capacity for remorse.”(Dilulio, John. 24) With today's long sentences and high rates of incarceration, many of these younger criminals will be spending their lives in prison, at taxpayer expense. "There's a tornado coming," Dilulio said. "We can't stop it; we have to prepare for it." Intelligent prison policy is necessary now more than ever before. “Our politicians have been unwilling to change their policy of getting tough on crime by getting tough on prisoners. The 1994 crime bill authorized $7.9 billion for prison construction, and House Republicans have added another $2.3 billion to that.”(Dilulio, John. 24) Some of the new prisons are necessary, but they will be counterproductive if they are run on the no-frills principle, with no vocational programs, no drug treatment, no education. There needs to be something done. As John Dilulio said “we need to prepare for it,” hopefully our prisons systems do not continue in the path its heading. Our society influences so many different aspects of our lives. The...
