Hip Hype Justice?

Campus Report ^ | July 13, 2009 | Brittany Fortier

[bs9021]

Hip Hype Justice?

by: Brittany Fortier, July 13, 2009

The ongoing debate concerning the disproportionate presence of African-Americans and other minorities in the criminal justice system has become crucial as the United States tries to find an approach to fund its prisons in an ailing economy. Paul Butler, a former prosecutor and author of the book Let’s Get Free: A Hip Hop Theory of Justice, spoke about this issue at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on July 1, 2009. He believes the criminal justice system needs to undergo major reform.

“I didn’t go to law school to put anybody in prison [when] their being in prison wouldn’t do us on the outside, or them, any good,” said Butler. Critics would respond that focusing on the sole benefit of society misses the key purpose of the criminal justice system, namely to punish offenders. Critics argue that if the system centers around reform and rehabilitation, then the concept of punishment will be considered to be more harmful than the crime itself.

Butler argued that expansion of the prison population “has nothing to do with the crime rate.” The question as to what actually constitutes a “crime” separates Butler from those who would disagree with Butler’s progressive point of view. Though there are many standard norms accepted by society as crimes, other offenses are considered crimes based on a localized standard, differing from state to state or from country to country.

America needs a “more effective criminal justice” system, Butler said, expressing his concern that “when too many people are locked up we are actually less safe on the streets.”...

[jessduntno]

America needs a “more effective criminal justice” system, Butler said, expressing his concern that “when too many people are locked up we are actually less safe on the streets.”...

Huh...thought the reverse would be true...but then, I’m just a law abiding white guy...

[Melchior]

The movie Escape From New York, like Atlas Shrugged, was an event that seemed rediculous at the time but actually foresaw the coming crisis in the USA. First, create Manhattan Island as a nation-wide prison — and don’t allow anyone who lives there now to escape. America would improve overnight.

[3niner]

If more “African-Americans” had fathers, less of them would end up in prison.

[I Buried My Guns]

You are just a Bitter Clinger!

"...the disproportionate presence of African-Americans and other minorities in the criminal justice system..."

It is not "disproportionate". On the contrary: A person commits a crime and goes to prison on a 1 to 1 scale: One crime equals one prison sentence. Perhaps if they did not commit the crime in the first place, there'd be no complaining from these leftist tools. I, as a Bitter Clinger, laud the concept of "you commit the crime, you serve the time".

As an aside, the concept of Hate Crimes was concieved as the only way to get more white people into prison. That's the actual goal, and why it is only applied to white perps. So when someone says "disproportionate number of minorities in prison", what they are really saying is "not enough white people in prison", and I think that is hateful and racist against the most law-abiding demographic in the U.S.: Honkies.

[Celerity]

This post should be saved for all time. It’s an accurate way of describing the truth.

Thank you for this post ! Can I use it in the future ?

[I Buried My Guns]

I would be honored if you used it.

Feel free to utilize and disburse at your pleasure.

I blame a beginning philosophy course I took in my 4th year at a 2 year college (College of San Mateo).

I was taught to take concepts to the extreme of their consequences and their farthest reasonable extent. In this case that would be "75% of all Americans are white, thus, we must have a prison population that has the same racial balance".

When you say it that way, liberals are revealed to be the most racist group EVAH, on a par with Hitler.