The Staggering Costs of Imprisonment in the U.S.

Guess how much our nation’s system of mass incarceration costs each year? I’m talking about the taxpayer funded budgets of prisons, jails, probation departments and the public employees who staff them. Add in the cost of running the criminal justice system; the amount spent on health care, food and incidentals for inmates and the financial…

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Allowing Prisoners to Vote – Let’s Think This Through

So democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders wants to give all prisoners the right to vote. He said so during a recent campaign speech, much to the surprise of many. I was among them. Sanders believes “the right to vote is inherent to our democracy” and even “terrible people” like the Boston Marathon bomber should…

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It is Not a Crime to Win

This is not one of my typical crime and justice columns. This one comes from a personal place. I love the television show Jeopardy. I adore host Alex Trebek and I watch the program whenever I can.  . So, when the contestant, James Holzhauer, recently started racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then…

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Are Lawyers Immune From Defamation Laws?

If someone libels, slanders or defames your character you can sue them. Of course, you’ll have to be able to prove in court how they injured your reputation or business and you’ll have to show that what they said was more than just their ugly opinion.  You’ll have to show the offender made a false…

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