It is no secret that prisons in the United States are filled to overflowing. With 2,145,100 prisoners, as reported by Institute for Criminal Policy Research, the U.S. leads the world in the number of incarcerated citizens, many for non-violent offenses. This statistic is remarkable. China, the country with the second highest number of prisoners, 1,649, 804, has 1.371 billion citizens overall, whereas the United States’ population is only 321.4 million. And, according to Smartasset, an online …
Criminal Defense
Treatment is more Effective than Jail Time
The War on Drugs, begun by Richard Nixon and continued and added onto by subsequent presidents, has not been as successful as its supporters hoped when they conceived it. Since its inception in 1971, estimates from different sources, including CNN and the Drug Policy Alliance, state that the U.S. has spent more than $1 trillion. And while the positive results of the war are negligible, what it has done, through mandatory minimum sentencing, harsher laws and other measures, is to help fill up the …
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Treatment not Punishment
When a judge sentences a defendant, generally the sentence focuses on the action; and the penalty, within guidelines or mandates, is based on the crime. What is normally not fully addressed are the underlying causes that led to the defendant’s behavior, and in many cases, unless the underlying issues are addressed, a prison sentence is no more than a holding period before the criminal performs the same or a different crime once more. Mental Illness The underlying issue, in many cases, is …
Fun in the Sun? Crimes Increase Alongside Temps
Summertime in Kentucky is supposed to be a time to relax, take a boat on the lake, watch the kids play baseball. For many people, it is. With school out and the temperatures rising, it’s a more laid-back time than when school is in, or when the holidays are approaching and we tend to stay inside and brace against the cold. But, statistically, summer is also a time when we see increased criminal activity, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ); specifically, burglaries and robberies spike …
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Kentucky Says No to Boating and Drinking
Summertime in Kentucky is a time to relax. In a state that boasts the greatest length of navigable waterways in the continental United States and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River, it's common that summertime includes spending weekends and vacations out on the water. However, as the rivers and lakes become more crowded, the danger of injury in a boating accident increases. Crowded Waterways Kentucky has more than 174,218 registered boats – not counting kayaks, canoes …
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