Nathan Deal: Drug addiction ‘draining our treasury’
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, left embraces his son, Hall County Superior Judge Jason Deal, after being sworn in by his son as the 82nd Governor in the House chamber. AP/John Bazemore
In his inaugural address to a small, snow-winnowed crowd of state lawmakers, supporters and state officials, Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday made crime and its cost his very first topic.
Deal made no specific proposals, but the comments below appear to echo last week’s musings by House Speaker David Ralston, who wondered if Georgia was locking up too many people, at too high a cost – particularly in the case of drug addicts.
When a House speaker and a new governor are hitting the same notes, something’s up.
From Deal’s prepared text:
“Presently, one out of every 13 Georgia residents is under some form of correctional control. It cost about $3 million per day to operate our Department of Corrections. And yet, every day criminals continue to inflict violence on our citizens and an alarming number of perpetrators are juveniles.
“College students should be concerned about their grades not whether they are going to be mugged on their way home from class. Visitors to our cities should be treated as welcomed guests and protected. Families should not live in fear of gang violence and drive-by shootings. But most of all, our dedicated law enforcement officers must not be targets for criminals. Anyone who harms one of them harms us all, for they embody the Constitutional mandate that government provide us with protection and security.
“Breaking the culture of crime and violence is not a task for law enforcement officials alone. Parents must assume more responsibility for their children. Communities must marshal their collective wills; civic and religious organizations must use their influence to set the tone for expected behavior.
“For violent and repeat offenders, we will make you pay for your crimes. For other offenders who want to change their lives, we will provide the opportunity to do so with Day Reporting Centers, Drug, DUI and Mental Health Courts and expanded probation and treatment options. As a State, we cannot afford to have so many of our citizens waste their lives because of addictions. It is draining our State Treasury and depleting our workforce…..”
And let it be noted that Deal – unlike his predecessor – put a great deal of emphasis on transportation:
With an expansive land mass that is populated by one large metropolitan area, several medium-sized municipalities, and many smaller cities and rural counties, our transportation needs are very diverse. With our ports at Savannah and Brunswick, we are part of an expanding international trade community.
We will do our part to deepen the Savannah port in order to accommodate the larger vessels that will soon pass through the Panama Canal. But we must do more. Our rail capacity and cargo routes must be improved and expanded. We must not miss this opportunity to provide jobs for Georgians.
Highway congestion, especially in the Greater Atlanta area is a deterrent to job growth in the region. If we do not solve this problem soon, we will lose the businesses who want to expand or locate in our State. I am dedicated to working with all elements of government to improve our transportation system and I call on all Georgians to join us. We must put aside some of the regional differences of the past and work for the common good of our State.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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118 comments Add your comment
WE have lost our way
January 10th, 2011
3:42 pm
The Department of Corrections had alternative housing for Drug offenders in the 1980’s and 1990’s.However the majority of these centers were deleted by Sonny and the Republican legislators in the past eight years.They cut them to save state funds,but as you can see they want to add them back in. Looked good in the short term,but costly in the long term.
khc
January 10th, 2011
3:45 pm
so true
Stephanie
January 10th, 2011
3:57 pm
Had a crazy idea this article was about curbing our spending habit, oh well. Good parenting and a few lessons from Sheriff Joe Arpaio would help curb crime stemming from drug habits. The question is how do you lessen demand for drugs? Without demand, there would be no supply….
Tired of BS
January 10th, 2011
4:00 pm
Drug users have terrorized our country for far too long. Frankly, maybe it’s time to realize that we can’t help them because they don’t want it. They come from a culture that supports and encourages young minority men to deal. We have got to make definitive choices about what we can do to protect the citizens from these people. Money and programs have not helped. It’s time to find another way.
td
January 10th, 2011
4:08 pm
At the turn of the 19th century, China solved its opium problem by putting all users and dealers to death immediately. It only took 10 years to solve their addition problem.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
4:14 pm
the clear solution is to make drugs legal, but republicans have spent so much time demonizing drugs and drug users (sometimes literally, like the satanism panic of the 80’s) that they can’t change their minds now. let’s continue to waste billions of dollars a year incarcerating people who want to smoke a plant, while far more toxic drugs like alcohol or tobacco are sold and taxed
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
4:16 pm
of course, it’s always a lot easier to blame minorities for being poor than it is to look at the reasons why they are poor in the first place, or the very few mechanisms they have to lift themselves out of poverty
drugs are not the problem. our attitude towards drugs is the problem
BRW
January 10th, 2011
4:16 pm
That’s right td, let’s look back to the conservative 19th century Chinese for inspiration. I’m sure your interpretation of the Constitution will prove it’s OK to terminate people that don’t follow your ideals.
LizBeth
January 10th, 2011
4:17 pm
td—You are right; putting people to death will solve a country’s addition problem.
BRW
January 10th, 2011
4:20 pm
….just caught the “addition” part…..good catch
Tweets that mention Nathan Deal: Drug addiction ‘draining our treasury’ | Political Insider -- Topsy.com
January 10th, 2011
4:21 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Russ Walker. Russ Walker said: RT @politicalinsidr: Nathan Deal: Drug addiction ‘draining our treasury’ http://bit.ly/hrE2zN [...]
James Stewart
January 10th, 2011
4:22 pm
Penfield Christian Home is the answer, not jail.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
4:26 pm
“At the turn of the 19th century, China solved its opium problem by putting all users and dealers to death immediately. It only took 10 years to solve their addition problem.”
td, are you aware that the chinese ‘opium problem’ was created by the british, who forced the chinese to accept opium from british india in payment for chinese tea and silk? no, you probably are not aware of this fact – here is a link for you to educate yourself
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars
much like today, the drug ‘problem’ is created by the government. local police prefer to keep drugs illegal, so that they can requisition large budgets to hunt down drug pushers. members of government with ties to the prison industry prefer to keep drugs illegal, ensuring that they have a steady long-term supply of ‘customers’ who reside at government expense in private, for-profit prisons. the drug ‘problem’ can even be seen as a form of welfare – how much worse would unemployment be if the million americans incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses were back on the street?
if we were serious about combating drugs in american society, we would legalize. mexican drug cartels would find their business undercut, because drug prices are artificially inflated due to the risk of law enforcement. backyard meth cookers would vanish overnight if users could buy clean methamphetamine at walgreens. heroin overdoses would drop dramatically if addicts could get pure, uncut junk from a government-run store. and imagine the money saved by not having to house millions of harmless ‘criminals’! imagine the tax revenues – federal excise reciepts on alcohol produce over ten billion dollars a year!
yet we still insist on pursuing this hypocritical, moralistic fools’ crusade.
Let's Keep It Real Now!
January 10th, 2011
4:26 pm
If Obama Supporters could behave themselves, be considerate of others and obey the same laws as the rest of us (for a change), the State would not have to spend so much money on correctional facilities.
Lifetime Georgian
January 10th, 2011
4:27 pm
td = too dumb
Aquagirl
January 10th, 2011
4:28 pm
Nate, honey, the War on Drugs is what’s draining the treasury. Let crackheads sit in a corner and kill themselves. It’s their choice.
catlady
January 10th, 2011
4:29 pm
I know several women who get disability checks, food stamps, housing because they are drug addicts! This has to stop! Maybe Governor Deal will put an end to this malarkey! If they worked they wouldn’t have the time for drugs,and their self-esteem would increase. See the article in the NY
Times about this.
We have to do something about all the “disabled” we have who can still manage to procreate and pursue their leisure activities! People who truly are disabled cannot get help without years of appeals, but we have folks who have ridden the disabled wagon for generations,and they are passing it on to their children. Kids don’t need disability checks!
On the national level, we need to cut out the SS welfare check–the check sent to the mates of SS recipients/workers. If you do not work, you do not qualify for SS–period! In the 1930s it might have made sense to protect the widows of workers, but now it does not! The same for Medicare. If you have not paid in, you do not qualify.
Finally, have you noticed how the Georgia tax commission people are advocating cutting the state income tax–in a few years–but adding on additional sales taxes (right away). Oh, and by the way, keeping or expanding the state tax exemptions for some favored groups. THIS, FOLKS, is what the Fair Tax would degenerate into–a bunch of sweet-deal exceptions. At any rate, the middle class is going to be soaked on this one!
Tired of BS
January 10th, 2011
4:29 pm
Hypo…. so continuing to do the same thing we’ve been doing is going to work better. We have got to do something to stop the madness. Maybe legalizing is the way to handle it, I don’t know, but we have got to do something different.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
4:32 pm
“If Obama Supporters could behave themselves, be considerate of others and obey the same laws as the rest of us (for a change), the State would not have to spend so much money on correctional facilities.”
Obama Supporters is one of the sneakiest dogwhistle euphemisms for black people i’ve ever read.
“Hypo…. so continuing to do the same thing we’ve been doing is going to work better. We have got to do something to stop the madness. Maybe legalizing is the way to handle it, I don’t know, but we have got to do something different.”
yeah, but do you realize how profitable it is to keep drugs illegal? not for you, the common taxpayer, no, but if you pulled yourself up by your entrepreneurial bootstraps and opened a prison you would be raking in the money
whiteboy
January 10th, 2011
4:34 pm
@ Tired of BS
” young minority men”!?…..What about meth and our own white people….you should be tired of all BS including yours! Stop making it race!!!!
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
4:35 pm
it’s always easier to blame black people for being black than it is to blame white people for hating blacks
Ronnie Bolling
January 10th, 2011
4:36 pm
If America wants to stop our insane drug war against its own citizens that president Richard Nixon started in 1971 we should study what Portugal did years ago Google it for info on how it has worked). Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has been advocating this common sense approach for years.
Keith
January 10th, 2011
4:36 pm
It’s simple- decriminalize pot as step one.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
4:41 pm
blaming drugs for creating poverty is like blaming al capone for inventing booze. deal is unwilling to take a realistic look at drugs, rather he would prefer to cater to moralistic squares by proclaiming all of the invented evils of drugs. i wish we had a governor who understands the historic lesson of Prohibition, specifically that Prohibition never works and is a great big waste of time and money
Freedom lover
January 10th, 2011
4:51 pm
hypocrites – thanks for saving me the trouble of having to present the only intelligent response there is to these misguided ramblings of our new governor. It is sad that folks can’t step back even a bit to see that the policy itself is the problem. Legalization is no utopia, but neither is this current approach, and freedom is always the better solution. Sadly this issue is too emotionally charged for people to approach it with the common sense that is needed. Sadly too that all of the public supporters of the current policies directly benefit financially from the illegal classification of drugs. The biggest funders of Partnership for a Drug Free America are the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries. The drug treatment industry which benefits hugely from forced treatments through the courts also supports the current situation (with maybe an even great emphasis on treatment over prison – naturally). And of course the Federal government, who’s CIA routinely buys and sells drugs all over the world (remember Iran Contra) to pad their budget, the police forces who get all their fun gadgets and fancy cars through assest forfeiture (mainly of drug related items), and the prison-industrial complex whose bread and butter is locking up massive segments of the population (of course knowing that most of them are non-violent and easy money).
Until the common sense of the citizens can override the vested financial interests of the benefactors, this war on drugs will continue to be a scourge on our country. The problem is government. One would hope that Deal would get that (but then he is a republican, not a libertarian).
Is it too late to vote for John Monds?
BRW
January 10th, 2011
4:51 pm
Wouldn’t prohibition of anything be against all Tea Party and Liberatarian ideals? “Keep your dang guvment hands off my reefer!”
Katz P Ajamas
January 10th, 2011
4:52 pm
Law enforcement related to drug law is as big a business as the drugs themselves. Therefor there is no motivation for either side to solve the problem. Some other reforms are needed as well.
1)Legalize home production and consumption of marijuana.
2)Provide free drugs to registered users. In exchange, their registry information is public knowledge.
3)Confiscate the motor vehicle of anyone who fails an “operational capability” test. Too stoned, drunk, tired, or blind to be driving? You lose you vehicle.
4)Reform insurance and require that a drivers license be valid only so long as liability insurance is up to date. Henceforth, all new vehicles will require a valid license (smart card) in addition to a starting code which is controlled by the owners.
5)Treat property crime as battery. When someone steals from you, they are stealing the time it took you to acquire that possession. They are in fact, stealing part of your life.
5)Release all non-violent, non-thieving, drug users who are currently in jail.
Meth is a Scourge
January 10th, 2011
4:55 pm
Both Governor Deal and House Speaker Ralston hail from rural Northern GA, home to that frightening scourge known as meth. Typically, hard-working, blue collar types will use meth just to keep up with their two jobs.
Now, we see kids, everyone using meth. Making meth legal is worse than making drinking and driving legal. Meth users die. They steal, lie, and die.
Treat addiction as the problem it is – A medical issue.
Meth is a horrible drug, it will rob one of their soul.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
5:05 pm
methamphetamine addiction is a very bad thing, scourge. i agree.
but the epidemic of crappy bathtub meth is directly created by government policy. because good drugs are expensive, your only consumption alternative is the crap skeeter makes in his shed. simply eating a dexedrine pill is much healthier than vaporizing a meth rock, due to the longer metabolization time which reduces issues of acute toxicity
people will always find ways to intoxicate themselves. mandating sobriety is just as stupid and useless as mandating celibacy. in fact, the hypocritical face of government is shown once again when you recognize that massive alcohol consumption and abuse is fully tolerated by government, but the simple possession of much healthier drugs is illegal. some forms of meth are even tolerated by government (adderol, ritalin, etc.) Desoxyn is the brand name for FDA-approved methamphetamine, practically no different than backyard brew.
if the government was interested in combating the meth problem, they would do their best to dismantle the black market where meth flourishes. the easiest and best way to do that would be to sell (and tax) meth in stores.
GAObserver
January 10th, 2011
5:09 pm
Now MIAS.. don’t you go airing out the good ‘ol White folks’ dirty laundry like that. We all know drugs is the problem of them Black and Brown folk. (LOL)
Jesse
January 10th, 2011
5:11 pm
Send the illegals home. Require the id’s. Penalize the employers
Bill
January 10th, 2011
5:17 pm
Every time we have declared “war” on something that is not a country, we have lost… war on poverty, war on drugs, war on terrorism. War is great language to get people inspired, but it is bad policy in all of these cases. Maybe we could begin by dropping the hyperbole.
chainz
January 10th, 2011
5:18 pm
set the pot heads free…… quit chasing agricultural salesman, go for the real problems the chemical drug abusers and dealers……..Never seen a pot head rob a store for a sack of grass…. Could save billions in tax dollars for housing and court resources and gain the taxation revenue……….Win Win…… Glad I voted for Nathan now…..
bart
January 10th, 2011
5:24 pm
Deal has talked about further cuts to education, yet education is the way out of poverty and addiction. It is also an economic engine because business and industry will not locate in a state with an uneducated workforce. I hope Deal wises up and realizes the answer to many of our problems is a good public education system.
alex
January 10th, 2011
5:25 pm
1. Decriminalize pot and handle it about the same as alcohol (restrict sales to minors). This seems to be a waste of resources when there are much worse criminal activities associated with other drugs. 2. Punish the drug users (heroine, cocaine, meth, etc) the same as the drug dealers.
3. This will never happen, but I’ll mention it anyway: After 3 or 4 attempts at rehabilitation revoke the citzenship of the offender (user or dealer) and deport them to a less than friendly country (Iran comes to mind) and let them deal with it.
td
January 10th, 2011
5:38 pm
Well if you do not like the easy idea of tough love then how about instead of waiting for young people to become addicted then we have preventative care and find these people with additive personality tendencies when they are young and do some serious retraining of their minds to put the additive personality traits to work for the betterment of society. This will cost us less money in the long run then to try to get them off whatever drug they get on.
Patriot
January 10th, 2011
5:43 pm
Don’t forget to consider our collective history …
“Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!” -George Washington, The Writings of George Washington Volume 33, page 270 (Library of Congress), 1794
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God cannot long retain it.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use…Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce [28g] of marihuana.” -Jimmy Carter, U.S. President, Message to congress, 1977
“Congress should definitely consider decriminalizing possession of marijuana… We should concentrate on prosecuting the rapists and burglars who are a menace to society.”-Dan Quayle, U.S. Representative and Vice president under President Bush, March 1977
“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this.” -Albert Einstein, My First Impression of the U.S.A., 1921
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
5:53 pm
“Well if you do not like the easy idea of tough love then how about instead of waiting for young people to become addicted then we have preventative care and find these people with additive personality tendencies when they are young and do some serious retraining of their minds to put the additive personality traits to work for the betterment of society. This will cost us less money in the long run then to try to get them off whatever drug they get on.”
tough love, eugenics and brainwashing. sounds great!
actually no it does not. i was being sarcastic. sorry. your proposal is draconian and you have a very poor understanding of what makes people tick
Don
January 10th, 2011
5:58 pm
“a few lessons from Sheriff Joe Arpaio”. You do realize that Joe has cost Maricopa County over $30 million in liability. The county is currently paying $1.5 million/year for a policy with a $5 million deductible. Just because the citizens of Maricopa county are morons (they keep electing him), doesn’t mean we have to be.
Winfield J. Abbe
January 10th, 2011
5:58 pm
Read “Let Those Dopers Be” by Norm Stamper, 34 year police officer at http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/16/opinion/op-legalize16. The war on drugs is a dismal failure and is bankrupting our country. The only answer is legalization and regulation.
j. warren
January 10th, 2011
5:58 pm
The drug problem is not just a black or white issue. It is an american issue. Drugs do not discriminate. They are in all communities no matter what nationality or income level. We all must find ways to prevent the drug problem and one way to do that is by not taking them. We all are our brothers and sisters keeper whether we like it or not.
Brother Bill
January 10th, 2011
6:02 pm
Change the penalty for possession of personal amounts of drugs to $1.00
Next, at the Federal level, legalize and tax drugs. Have criminal penalties for distribution without a license.
Result: Elimination of drug problem, drug violence, Mexican Drug Cartels, and new tax revenue from drug usage.
AT
January 10th, 2011
6:08 pm
Just as prohibition fed money to the mob (and knocked nary a whit in the demon rum) we blame all the wrong people for the drug related incarcerations and violence. If America didn’t insist on buying drugs, and if those drugs were not illegal, the cartels would have no demand for their supply. We never learn, we just keep blaming someone else and creating more suffering.
Reality
January 10th, 2011
6:17 pm
Republicans have all of the answers. Look at how great they have led Georgia. We are tops in education, tops in making jobs, tops in every category!
Continue to vote for republicans. That’s the Georgia way…
Tweets that mention Nathan Deal: Drug addiction ‘draining our treasury’ | Political Insider -- Topsy.com
January 10th, 2011
6:22 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jim Galloway, John H. Pruett, Jr.. John H. Pruett, Jr. said: Nathan Deal: Drug addiction draining our treasury http://t.co/cfv3i28 [...]
bigguy
January 10th, 2011
6:26 pm
How ’bout if we offered castration as an alternative to incarceration FOR 1ST TIME OFFENDERS? The second time, make it MANDATORY. See what happens.
Mr. Bill
January 10th, 2011
6:26 pm
“If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you always got.”
If you made drugs legal, you would have more control. But you would still have the problem with the addicts who would be homeless and jobless.
And “prisons for profit” was not a smart move. Out-sourceing govt. jobs to private corporations “to save money” seldom does. And such businesses can raise the cost any time they wish.
But we can’t put criminals on the street to save money, as California is doing.
PeggyAttaway
January 10th, 2011
6:33 pm
It is apparent that the war on drugs has failed. Get these young kids out of the felony courts for possessing minor amounts of weed and controlled substances and use those law enforcement/judicial resources for greater things. I don’t use drugs…Actually, I hate that very idea but once a person falls into the legal trap, it only makes things worse. I am completely convinced that sometimes the legal consequences actually escalates the addictions for some.
hypocrites is a total idiot
January 10th, 2011
6:35 pm
making drugs legal is stupidist thing ever…the death penalty for repeat offenders sounds more reasonable.
Bobby
January 10th, 2011
6:36 pm
Part of the problem with our criminal system is we make jail way too comfortable. If we denied prisioners TV’s, exercise and just locked them up in a small cell to serve their time, they would work much harder to stay out of jail.
As for the drug problem, it’s white folks that are the biggest users. Blacks are simply the conduits who get caught while white folks keep an arms distance. If we started making white folks serve as much jail time for using as blacks for selling, we would do better in combatting drugs, if that’s a worthwhile goal. I’m not so sure it is.
Hardcore
January 10th, 2011
6:38 pm
Governor Deal,
You mentioned in your speech that a large numbers of crime are committed by juveniles and that parents need to be accept more responsibility for the actions and rearing of ther children and I agree with you 100%. However in todays world if a parent spanks or whips their child they stand a huge chance of having the child taken from them and placed in jail, once again adding to the over crowded jail and burden of the tax payers.
I have heard children from ages 6 to 16 tell their parents, spank me, whip me or touch me and I will have you put in jail and will have my teachers call DFACS. When society became passive and started the “time out” era and said that spanking, whipping, ect is mentality abusive then we as a society opened the door for out of control juveniles that kill, steal and destroy.
So Governor Deal if you want to put a stop to juvenile problems then get with your legislation and change the DFACS laws and the laws pertaining to the parents ability to discipline. I know my grandparents and my parents whipped me with a belt and switches many times and left marks that would last a couple of days. But im not crazy, i served in our U.S. military and now Im a proud father raising 2 daughters.
Parents need more of an ability to discipline and children need to be brought up in a good church and made to be active in church whether they want to or not. Let anyone see one mark on a child and the parents must get ready for a battle and time in prison. I understand we have lunatic people that do not deserve to be parents that would abuse or put their own children in harms way, however their is nothing wrong with a belt whipping that might just put red marks on the legs and make their butt sore for a couple of days.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
6:40 pm
“making drugs legal is stupidist thing ever…the death penalty for repeat offenders sounds more reasonable.”
why don’t we just shoot someone the moment they are born, that way they can never possibly break the law
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
6:43 pm
it really is amazing how hateful ignorant people can be sometimes
Stephanie
January 10th, 2011
6:46 pm
Legalizing drugs, any drugs, instantly makes it seem OK for kids to use. Do I personally care if you smoke pot or whatever behind your closed doors? No. But perhaps your outspokenness to legalize drugs drives more young people to try them. Moreover, it seems all the people I personally know who want drugs legal are active users.
Drugs will always be a problem, until the reasons for using are addressed. However, our society is forcing every kind of pharmaceutical drug imaginable its population. Needlessly prescribing Prozac, Adderall, etc hastens the pathway to addiction.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
6:48 pm
“Legalizing drugs, any drugs, instantly makes it seem OK for kids to use. Do I personally care if you smoke pot or whatever behind your closed doors? No. But perhaps your outspokenness to legalize drugs drives more young people to try them.”
stephanie, i recommend following governor deal’s advice and being a better parent rather than blaming society for the bad behavior of your children
you could also relax and realize that drugs aren’t terrible if used responsibly, but that would probably require that you change your mind so… nah
td
January 10th, 2011
6:51 pm
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
5:53 pm
“your proposal is draconian and you have a very poor understanding of what makes people tick”
Then please go right ahead and help me understand? Let me guess let us make all drugs legal? Am I close? I was once young, dumb and stupid. One day when you have a good job, own property, have teen age children and seen nearly 10% of the people you grew up with ruin their lives then you too will change your mind.
JaTeekjaunious
January 10th, 2011
6:54 pm
Allow bathtub meth to be made leggally because it’s poisoness witch will kill off the losers witch are the bigest drain on the econnomy.
Bob
January 10th, 2011
6:57 pm
Quit putting people in prison. Publicly flog them, and move on. Get capital offenders off death row by administering the penalty for their crimes more quickly. Enact a law making three felony convictions a capital crime.
Pause for a moment or two and reflect on the massive savings the above provisions would produce.
More importantly, greater justice would be gained. Two great goals of the state are within easy reach.
Ugh
January 10th, 2011
6:58 pm
Legalize weed and the state will save millions
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
6:59 pm
“Then please go right ahead and help me understand? Let me guess let us make all drugs legal? Am I close?”
no, you’re not even close. i called you draconian (it’s a word that means ‘bad’, look it up) because you seriously advocated brainwashing people. that is a Bad Thing. you had a Bad Thought. Bad. does that explain it any better?
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
7:01 pm
would i be communicating on your intellectual level if i smacked your nose with a rolled up newspaper? bad td, bad! we do not brainwash people! no!
JaTeekjaunious
January 10th, 2011
7:01 pm
Ugh
January 10th, 2011
6:58 pm
Legalize weed and the state will save millions
Just ad some bad crack rock to the weed (and meth) and wach the econnomy drainers cease to exsits
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
7:03 pm
you seem to be pretty familiar with bad crack rock, JaTeekjaunious, given the terrible state of your spelling, grammar etc.
Browncoat
January 10th, 2011
7:09 pm
How much money could be saved by decriminalizing most drugs and releasing nonviolent drug offenders from prison. Then use some of the savings to treat people with drug additions. And for those of you who think that the drug war has been a success, my 8th grader knows where to get drugs at school if he was so inclined, and I can drive five minutes from my house and get whatever I want.
td
January 10th, 2011
7:10 pm
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
6:59 pm
“Then please go right ahead and help me understand? Let me guess let us make all drugs legal? Am I close?”
no, you’re not even close. i called you draconian (it’s a word that means ‘bad’, look it up) because you seriously advocated brainwashing people. that is a Bad Thing. you had a Bad Thought. Bad. does that explain it any better?
In your words “brainwashing” a person to not become a drug addict is a bad thing? It is better for the person to become a drug addict? Really? I do not calling it “brainwashing” I call it to educate and make sure a tendency or a personality trait does not become a reality.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
7:13 pm
are you a coward who can’t stick to his own words, or are you seriously too ignorant to understand what you’re typing? this is what you said:
“find these people with additive personality tendencies when they are young and do some serious retraining of their minds to put the additive personality traits to work for the betterment of society”
it didn’t work for mao and it’s not going to work for you, comrade. besides, if we get rid of everyone with additive personality traits, there will be nobody left to add things up!
stop the insanity
January 10th, 2011
7:13 pm
First, de-criminalize drugs. All of them, but most importantly, marijuana.
As a result, you have taken the money out of the hands of criminals, and the youth who live in areas where the illegal drug trade is their only hope of earning anything.
Then, you treat those who have drug problems, openly, without judgment.
This accomplishes one more thing that is key. It puts a stop to the stranglehold the prison complex has on the budget by eliminating the inane practice of incarcerating people for casual drug use, and those on the street who supply them.
Problem is, this is way too much common sense for government.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
7:15 pm
look, i’m not saying we’re going to brainwash people. we’re just going to do some serious retraining of their minds so that they think a different way. totally different concepts!
Cloverhurst
January 10th, 2011
7:17 pm
Good move by Nathan- it costs a lot less to rehabilitate non-violent drug offenders than it does to incarcerate them.
Fulton County has had a drug court for many years that has been very successful. He is right this problem is draining our treasury and workforce.
AAmeeting
January 10th, 2011
7:22 pm
hypocrites, I’ve notice you’re quick to chastise someone for nor conforming to your beliefs in drug use and distribution. You said, “you could also relax and realize that drugs aren’t terrible if used responsibly,” That is quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Alcohol was made legal after the Volstead Act was repealed and we have seen how “responsible” society as a whole has been with that. How many billions (with a B) of dollars have been spent over the last 70+ years cleaning up after what the “responsible” have done. This does not include the priceless numbers of lives that cannot be replaced. I’ve stood over the “harmless” marijuana users and read them Miranda after they slammed into a family vehicle killing everyone inside. Observe a funerals with the smallest casket imaginable being carried graveside. In a nutshell, society in general has not shown any responsibility in dealing with alcohol, what makes you think legalizing drugs would fair any better? Back up your argument and I’ll listen.
WE have lost our way
January 10th, 2011
7:25 pm
The message that Governor Deal was trying to get across to the general public is there are currently NO alternative sentencing for judges in this state for drug related crimes.The only sentence that can be given for repeat drug offenders is confinement in a state institution.First offense can be probation,after that you are serving time in a state pen at the cost of around 24,000.00 a year without medical cost in this amount.Medical cost could be thousands more per year. The State judges want alternative sentencing such as drug detention centers,day centers for drug counseling and Diversion Centers across the state. All of these type centers were available in the 80,s and 90,s in the Department of Corrections. However they were eliminated by the past administration under Perdue to save State funds. One side note- please realize that Gov. Deal,s son is a State Judge who has his ear and other judges.
Travis McGee
January 10th, 2011
7:36 pm
As one who spent years working with at-risk families and children, I can tell you with authority politicians know they can cut funding for the poor, homeless, mentally ill and addicted with impunity: these folks don’t vote! These folks are expendable.
When it comes to at-risk kids, families and the addicted I’m reminded of the ol’ Fram oil filter commercials: Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later!
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
7:36 pm
“hypocrites, I’ve notice you’re quick to chastise someone for nor conforming to your beliefs in drug use and distribution.”
if you were really paying attention, you would notice that i’m attacking the structure of their arguments or the zeal with which they are willing to punish drug users, some even seriously advocating the death penalty. i don’t care if you think drugs should be illegal, i just plead for you to actually think about the problem like a rational adult rather than parroting the same old tired nonsense
“How many billions (with a B) of dollars have been spent over the last 70+ years cleaning up after what the “responsible” have done.”
quite a lot. NIDA estimates about $130 billion a year on alcohol related costs alone!
but, this does not balance against the responsible users. we don’t know how much responsible alcohol use costs, because we only track the costs of irresponsibility. millions of americans consume alcohol every day without killing or maiming someone else.
many things can be used irresponsibly. handguns are the prime example, but there are many others. yet we continue to hold the utterly hypocritical standpoint that adults should be able to buy alcohol, firearms, and tobacco but should not be allowed to buy marijuana or LSD. there is no effective difference between alcohol and marijuana.
“In a nutshell, society in general has not shown any responsibility in dealing with alcohol, what makes you think legalizing drugs would fair any better? Back up your argument and I’ll listen.”
you’re not willing to listen to my argument regardless. you’ve rationalized the Drugs Are Bad idea with a bunch of hyperbolic, emotional nonsense.
i would like to ask you this – why do you feel like you have a moralistic high ground in deciding what other adults are and are not allowed to consume?
No Dog in this Hunt
January 10th, 2011
7:36 pm
Perdue’s reason for eliminating the alternative drug sentences was more to do with the poor operations of those facilities than with their expense. Deal is proposing to reinstate them and make sure they are run properly and efficiently. I am not a fan of Deal, but this makes sense. Give them counseling and drug testing, and keep them in society with their families and jobs.
WE have lost our way
January 10th, 2011
7:44 pm
@No Dog in this Hunt– Not so fast my friend.I was in State Government for over 30 years and was in the meetings at OPB and LBO when the cut was made.It was about he money,always the money.A majority of State Judges were upset at these cuts.
Fman
January 10th, 2011
8:20 pm
The reason we have so many prisoners is because it is big business. The prison industry has “business development executives” who lobby for overly tough laws, publicize every case where the suspect “got off”, and fund all these TV shows that make people afraid. The fact is that the US has more prisoners and a higher prison rate per capita than any other country in the world. Within the G-7, the US has 10 times more prisoners per person than the other 6 large industrial countries.
It’s time we get smart and stop putting people in prison because they smoke, snort, or shoot up. The user may need treatment; they do not need jail.
td
January 10th, 2011
8:22 pm
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
7:36 pm
Like I said before when you grow up, own property, have teenage children then you will change your mind. What is “responsible use”? What are the ramifications? Who is going to take care of the people that can not act responsible? Have you ever seen medical pictures of the brain of what long term Meth, LSD and Crack use does? Your brain is gone, you are literally a vegetable. Who is going to take care of you then?
Last Man Standing
January 10th, 2011
8:26 pm
td
January 10th, 2011 – 4:08 pm
“At the turn of the 19th century, China solved its opium problem by putting all users and dealers to death immediately. It only took 10 years to solve their addition problem.”
I could not agree more! Leave ‘em laying where you found them.
sho'nuff
January 10th, 2011
8:27 pm
Is that it? Is that the vision he has for this state? Prison’s are the No. 1 industry in Georgia, indeed across the South. Legalized Slavery when 65% of minority Youth are locked up. 50% High School Drop out rate. Most of our young people feel disconnected from the mainstream, because they feel, and see the rampant racism of People in charge. Where is the hope? Where is the Justice? Can anyone say they were inspired by his inaugural address. Saying Healthcare is a personal responsibility. In other words don’t get sick. Wow!!!
eatmotacos
January 10th, 2011
8:27 pm
Just take a play out of the ICE playbook – ignore them – look the other way. You don’t have to change the drug laws, just make a lot of excuses as to why you can’t enforce them. Do the same with all criminals. There are too many of them – it will be too costly. Just do away with all law enforcement – look at the savings. The same with roads. Just forget about them. When they become impassable, people will just walk. Look at the savings there.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
8:40 pm
“Like I said before when you grow up, own property, have teenage children then you will change your mind.”
if all you have left are baseless attacks against my socioeconomic status, i can only conclude that you have nothing left to say. i’ll consider the point conceded
John
January 10th, 2011
8:49 pm
Prohibition never has, does not now and never will work. When will we ever wake up to that simple fact? As a nation, we lock up a greater % of our population than any other nation in the world and we have destroyed countless lives in the process of saving them from themselves by incarcerating them in the name of the War On Drugs.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
9:01 pm
“Prohibition never has, does not now and never will work.”
prohibition works fine, if you’re a gangster. at this point, our government is the gangster.
eatmotacos
January 10th, 2011
9:35 pm
The Real Deal’s primary focus for the next four years is going to be padding the pockets of the Real Deal. Anyone who thinks that he has a sincere interest in rational discourse on any issue affecting Georgia’s citizens, hasn’t been paying attention. If you want him to pay attention to your concerns, like his predecessor, there will have to be something in it for him. In other words, the unwashed masses, (Isackson’s term for gullible constituents), need not apply. You may want to check your business card to see if it says major corporate CEO, deep pocketed lobbiest, or generous investor looking for a partner, if you intend to get the governor’s ear.
td
January 10th, 2011
10:02 pm
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
8:40 pm
“Like I said before when you grow up, own property, have teenage children then you will change your mind.”
if all you have left are baseless attacks against my socioeconomic status, i can only conclude that you have nothing left to say. i’ll consider the point conceded
Like I said you are not old enough, experienced enough or smart enough to even be a part of this discussion. You will realize one day what a fool you have made out of yourself today. I just hope and pray that that day will be way before your children are of the age to become addicted to illegal substances or in the prison system due to the consequences of partaking in the industry.
las cruces
January 10th, 2011
10:08 pm
sarah p. is a accessory to murder.
hypocrites
January 10th, 2011
10:12 pm
“Like I said you are not old enough, experienced enough or smart enough to even be a part of this discussion. You will realize one day what a fool you have made out of yourself today. I just hope and pray that that day will be way before your children are of the age to become addicted to illegal substances or in the prison system due to the consequences of partaking in the industry.”
you don’t know a thing about me. you have no idea how old i am, or if i have kids. you’re embarrassed because i made you look the fool, so you had to think up details about an internet stranger just to maintain a grip on your ego. pathetic! at least you felt so strongly about your sad little parting shot that you used spellcheck.
Nathan Deal: Jailing Drug Addicts Is ‘Draining To Our State’ | joeysmart
January 10th, 2011
10:29 pm
[...] are his comments about drug enforcement, from The Atlanta Journal Constitution. For violent and repeat offenders, we will make you pay for your crimes. For other offenders who [...]
bill
January 10th, 2011
11:03 pm
drugs and alcohol abuse belong to the medical community not public safety……..legalization is the only practical solution. By making drugs criminal we have created a subculture and ruined Mexico.
Steve
January 11th, 2011
3:43 am
Just legalize it all and deal with it like adults. This drug war hysteria needs to go away.
Engineer
January 11th, 2011
8:42 am
Start forcing unannounced random drug screenings on all people receiving welfare checks (with the threat of being kicked off welfare if results are positive) and I believe you’d see a drop in drug use among the lower income individuals with the side benefit of taxpayer dollars not funding the drug trade.
ROBOCOP
January 11th, 2011
10:46 am
It’s a good thing td is not setting policy on how to deal with drug “addiction” in this country. I also find it highly ironic (but not surprising) that td would reference communist China as a source to look at for how to fix the drug problem. td, if you’ll do a little research, you’ll learn that Georgia has historically always been tough on crime. Historically, td, Georgia incarcerates its citizens at twice the national average. It’s the fifth largest prison system in the country. If building more prisons and locking more people up were the answers to our epidemic of crime, Georgia would have solved crime many years ago. Get smart. Think before you offer such predictably silly ideas about how to address the drug problem in this country. Like Bobby, above, who foolishly opines that jails and prisons are nice places to be, jails and prisons in Georgia are NOT comfortable places. Obviously he’s never visited any, but expresses his misinformed opinion probably by watching Sean Vanity or some other hyperbolic member of the conservative movement. As was noted above by We have lost our way, our former idiot Governor and his lap dog former Corrections Commissioner James Donald (now Parole Board Chairman) cut out the kinds of programs that address drug problems because Donald felt his purpose in life was to reduce the DOC budget, no matter what the impact. Now, Georgia prisons are triple and quadruple bunking inmates in cells designed for 1 or 2. And soon enough we’ll be paying for a federal court monitor to put us back in compliance with 19th century standards for confining those who have broken our laws. The chickens are going to come home to roost.
hypocrites
January 11th, 2011
11:25 am
“Start forcing unannounced random drug screenings on all people receiving welfare checks (with the threat of being kicked off welfare if results are positive) and I believe you’d see a drop in drug use among the lower income individuals with the side benefit of taxpayer dollars not funding the drug trade.”
this doesn’t work because for many poor people, crime is the only way they have to better their situation. there aren’t enough jobs for everyone who wants one, and the poor are usually last on the list. if you deny them access to government benefits, their only way to survive and thrive is to commit crimes like prostitution, theft, and drug selling. you could say ‘well they don’t have to commit crimes’ but put yourself in their shoes for a moment – chronic unemployment, nobody will hire you, you’d be lucky if you can get a job for minimum wage, without benefits – i’d sell crack too.
besides, then you’d just be pushing the poor into alcoholism. i’d rather they become chronic potsmokers
Engineer
January 11th, 2011
12:22 pm
@hypocrites; Or they just quit the drugs for fear of losing their benefits. However, I was surprised that you didn’t try to exploit one loophole/flaw in the very thing I brought up (which I would have expected you, or somebody else, to jump on but you didn’t) that they could skirt the system by not using drugs while selling them (while I’m not endorsing people to do this, I am being intellectually honest with you and admitting that it my idea is not without fault). However, I personally believe the fear of losing all their benefits would be more than enough for many people to stay away from illegal drugs altogether (with emphasis on illegal drugs) and I would rather at least something be done than nothing.
CB
January 11th, 2011
1:03 pm
I work rehabilitating women addicts. Addiction is a huge problem. The unfortunate thing is that most addicts, when released from jail, will re-offend. I believe wholeheartedly in treatment…..but, just like someone mentioned in an earlier post….it will only work if and when the addict is committed…..So, you will still have overcrowded institutions (prisons & rehabs) along with funding issues. I say..why not make the penalties stronger for 1st time offenders?
GOP Cannon
January 11th, 2011
1:07 pm
The United States is one of the only industrialized nations that treats drug use as a crime rather than a disease… throughout Europe, drug abuse is treated through rehabilitation and out patient therapy, not locking people up. Jail time and harsh sentencing do not dissuade drug abuse… the US has one of the world’s biggest drug problems, yet we have the strictest laws.
Legalization would be the best option, but with Georgia being the social conservative capital of the world, I know that will never happen. Decriminalization and removing mandatory sentences for drug use would be a good start however. Lets clear out the drug users and make room for the violent offenders in our jails.
CB
January 11th, 2011
1:09 pm
We may have strict laws….but somehow they are not enforce correctly!!!! WHY?
CB
January 11th, 2011
1:09 pm
GOP Cannon…You have some good points!!! Some!!!
GOP Cannon
January 11th, 2011
1:32 pm
Thanks CB.
td
January 11th, 2011
2:23 pm
hypocrites
January 11th, 2011
11:25 am
“Start forcing unannounced random drug screenings on all people receiving welfare checks (with the threat of being kicked off welfare if results are positive) and I believe you’d see a drop in drug use among the lower income individuals with the side benefit of taxpayer dollars not funding the drug trade.”
this doesn’t work because for many poor people, crime is the only way they have to better their situation. there aren’t enough jobs for everyone who wants one, and the poor are usually last on the list. if you deny them access to government benefits, their only way to survive and thrive is to commit crimes like prostitution, theft, and drug selling. you could say ‘well they don’t have to commit crimes’ but put yourself in their shoes for a moment – chronic unemployment, nobody will hire you, you’d be lucky if you can get a job for minimum wage, without benefits – i’d sell crack too.
besides, then you’d just be pushing the poor into alcoholism. i’d rather they become chronic potsmokers
One wonders if there is a correlation between early drug and alcohol use and being poor and uneducated?
td
January 11th, 2011
2:27 pm
ROBOCOP
January 11th, 2011
10:46 am
“I also find it highly ironic (but not surprising) that td would reference communist China as a source to look at for how to fix the drug problem.”
If you will check your history you will find that China had drug problems in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They did not become a communist country until the late 1940’s.
Grob Hahn
January 11th, 2011
2:28 pm
Having had my share of dealings with dope dealers and users I can easily see why more black Americans get locked up than white Americans. First of all people usually get caught because they are dealing with people they don’t know. Most of the black dope deals I have seen are out in the open and involve anyone passing by with green in their hand. I have never seen this with white dope transactions. Most of the white people I have ever known who got caught were either dealing with a black or dealing with someone who was previously caught and was being used by the police. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but I find that blacks are simply willing to take risks that whites choose to avoid. I actually met a black guy in Memphis once who took checks for pot and crack. If you bounced a check to him, he had a guy bounce you. But still, who would risk such an obvious paper trail? Another time I was at a McDonald’s in Orlando when a white guy pulled in with a beat up car, parked and then removed a bicycle which he rode around the corner to Ivy Lane to get his heroin. These two stick in my head because of the contrasts. Even a white heroin addict will try his best to avoid getting caught. Too often blacks rely only on running, no other backup plan at all. Willing to call 7 different dealers from the same phone or drive by 7 different dealers in the same car. Do you really think the black cops in Atlanta are ignoring the white addicts? Maybe there’s another reason fewer of them are on the radar. Might be their fear of taking risks that keeps them out of the cage. Hiding is actually the most common and successful survival tool out there!
Grobbbbbbbbbbbbb
Productive Citizen
January 11th, 2011
3:43 pm
I just want to smoke my pot safely at home. Sheesh.
Do we Really Want Change
January 11th, 2011
4:26 pm
Do We really want to change a system that is supported incarcerated drug offenders. Well, look at the food chain: local law enforcement budget is developed based upon number of arrest; local court systems’ budget is developed based largely in part on the number of criminals that they prosecute; local alternative sentencing program’s largest revenue source is supervising convicted drug offenders; and then the big one, Georgia has over 180 counties, many with no other revenue source other than the private and public correctional facilities that operate in their counties. Deal is correct in saying that we spend too much money on drug addicts, but it is being spent on the local infurstuctur and not in treating the problem. Another issue is the policing that takes place on the interstate highways. When you travel on I-75 or I-95 going to Florida look at the revenue that these remote counties make on stopping cars that have no intentions on sxiting into their counties. All of these police cars are the most modern equiped available. Surely the local county sheriff is not paying for these cars with property tax revenues. I say legalize the marijuanna and take somewhat of a bite out our budget. Will Deal actually do something, I thing not.
Toby Saunders
January 11th, 2011
4:43 pm
-sounds like intellectual & ethical progress on this issue! Locking up drug users, especially cannabis (a safe & effective plant for medicine, industry & leisure) users, is a massive waste: addicts tend to be made worse by prison & it is indeed far too expensive to be of any good… it makes it harder for the ‘criminal’ to get a job & it makes someone more likely to join a gang or to lose the will to help society. According to NatGeo, Holland has far fewer hard-drug overdoses than the US. Deal’s proposal to at least lock up fewer drug users is better for the state economy & for the indiviudals in it than GA’s recent history of immoral war against illegal-drug users.
hypocrites
January 11th, 2011
5:19 pm
“One wonders if there is a correlation between early drug and alcohol use and being poor and uneducated?”
probably, but are you aware that correlation and causation are not the same?
hypocrites
January 11th, 2011
5:23 pm
“If you will check your history you will find that China had drug problems in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They did not become a communist country until the late 1940’s.”
yeah, but if you had checked your history – specifically the link i told you to look at – you would know that the drug ‘problem’ is usually due to the interaction of government doing one thing, and then telling its people to do another. opium was illegal in both britan and china during the 18th century, but the british government was actively involved in smuggling opium into china.
also, ROBOCOP was mocking you for claiming that “retraining people’s minds so that they think a different way” isn’t the same thing as brainwashing. a little bit of historiographic confusion, but that’s ok because so many people are historiographically confused
earlerich
January 11th, 2011
5:38 pm
The solution is swift captial punishment for sellers. It is not just a crime to sell drugs, it also encourages murder in Mexico.
Perhaps Nathan Deal will surprise us « ATLmalcontent
January 11th, 2011
6:17 pm
[...] been shady but, judging by his inaugural speech, Nathan Deal may not be a total *Sonny after all. “For violent and repeat offenders, we will make [...]
lynnbo
January 11th, 2011
6:22 pm
Lets give Gov. Deal a chance. He has a lifetime of experience to offer and we need a wise older person to lead right now. Georgia needs to work together and everyone contribute to help out in their own best way. Lets hold off on the negativity for just a little while AJC.
ROBOCOP
January 11th, 2011
6:54 pm
td @ 2:27pm
Communist China continued its long history of executing opium users and sellers, and, in fact, still utilize that system of “justice.” You check your history about Georgia’s long-standing policy of being tough on crime by locking up everything that moves. Got different figures, td? If so, put them on the table. We have the toughest mandatory sentencing laws in the country (See Georgia Sentence Reform Act of 1994, a/k/a “Two Strikes”). Now, conservatives, like Newt Gingrich, are starting to question the wisdom of locking up criminals for “The Seven Deadly Sins” and not seeing that it’s had any impact at all on reducing rapes, aggravated sodomy, murder,. aggravated child molestation, kidnapping, armed robbery, and aggravated assault on a police officer. It requires a horrendous expenditure of tax dollars and the results of reducing criminal conduct aren’t there. It’s been a 17 year experiment that’s not proved to be of any help in making Georgians safer. Back to the drawing board, eh?
sho'nuff
January 12th, 2011
6:12 am
Did anyone feel inspired by his inauguration speech? Where is the vision for the State. Have a debate on drug legaization is o.k. but his inaugural address? Is that the total problem for Georgia?
Stedenko
January 12th, 2011
7:07 am
@Stephanie
Joe Arpiao is a criminal. You are an idiot. That is all.
Stedenko
January 12th, 2011
7:09 am
@Everyone Else
Exactly WTF is a “mental health court” I envision stoners locked up in state hospitals…
Butler Reynolds
January 12th, 2011
8:52 am
To those conservatives who say that the drug problem should be solved by putting users to death: I’d love to see that. That would be the quickest path to legalization. Once a few children of wealthy Republican politicians or the children of their donors go in front of the firing squad, the drug war will be over.
Poor economy forces Georgia to rethink drug criminalization
January 12th, 2011
11:28 am
[...] preferred course of action, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, was to reemphasize focus on violent crimes and “provide the opportunity” for treatment [...]
Georgia’s Governor: Breaking New Ground in Law-and-Order Demagoguery « Prison Law Blog
January 12th, 2011
3:26 pm
[...] politics. The new governor of my home state has apparently hit on a new formula. From his inaugural speech: Presently, one out of every 13 Georgia residents is under some form of correctional control. It [...]
PRAISING REPUBS, WITHOUT HEARTBURN « Once Upon a Paradigm
January 12th, 2011
7:28 pm
[...] Newly-elected Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) announced Monday in his inaugural address that putting drug addicts and abusers in jail was placing an unsustainable financial and civic burden on his state. Here are his comments about drug enforcement, from The Atlanta Journal Constitution. [...]