Drug laws went wrong 25 years ago

Article Abstract:

A group of several former judges and legislators who advocated the strict mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders in the New York Controlled Substances Act of 1973 stated they would seek a relaxation of the sentences in the hope that judges could be authorized to sentence addicted prisoners to treatment and community service rather than long prison terms. New York's prison population has grown from 13,000 in May 1973 to nearly 70,000 25 years later, while the number of illegal substance abusers outside of prison has remained relatively constant.

Laws, regulations and rules, Narcotics, Control of, Narcotics control, New York (State)

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As our freedoms dwindle, death is a consolation prize

Article Abstract:

Arguments against the death penalty often ignore the worst-case scenario, but a stronger argument may be found in the impact such executions and other death obsessions have on our social body. The public ascension of temporal matters and the stifling of freedom in a surprisingly rigid society feed a preoccupation with death in all its forms: abortion, suicide, the right to die, capital punishment, and more, overemphasizing death as other options seem to fade. The recent movie 'Dead Man Walking' is analyzed.

Psychological aspects, Social aspects, Criticism and interpretation, Murder, Capital punishment, Dead Man Walking (Motion picture)

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Buying up the political franchise in America

Article Abstract:

Large contributions to campaign funds have skewed the American political process in favor of the rich, leading to a de facto disenfranchisement of the general electorate. Reform attempts at campaign finance have failed, with no prospect of success. A better solution might be a constitutional amendment empowering a tribunal to limit and define the campaign season.

Analysis, Campaign funds, Political campaigns, Political reform

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