Human Rights Watch has just released a report finding that too many US laws violate basic principles of justice. The report, released today, entitled “Nation Behind Bars: A Human Rights Solution,” finds that the US has the highest reported rate of incarceration in the world because punishments are far more severe than are necessary to meet their purposes.
A co-author of the report and US Program at Human Rights Watch senior advisory, Jamie Fellner, stated, “The ‘land of the free’ has become a country of prisons. Too many men and women are serving harsh prison sentences for nonviolent and often minor crimes. How can a country committed to liberty send minor dealers to die in prison for selling small amounts of illegal drugs to adults?”
Between 1997 and 2009, according to the report, prisoners in the US have increased 430 percent. The report also found that more than 95,000 criminals under 18 were in adult prisons and jails in 2011, based on Bureau of Justice Statistics data, and black Americans are nearly 10 times more likely to be in prisons. Currently, over 40 percent of all federal criminal prosecutions are for “illegal entry and re-entry” and border crimes, according to Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch urged US legislators to ensure that punishments do not exceed the gravity of a crime, reform or eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws, ensure age-appropriate punishments for adolescents and children, reduce or eliminate criminal sanctions for immigration offences, and prevent racially biased enforcement of laws. Human Rights Watch also urged the decriminalization of personal use drug possession.
By Sid Douglas
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