Terrorism and U.S Prisons Update

A tad old, but here's a good update on the overall picture of America's prison problem. And it isn't Guantanano or terrorists that are the problem. As somebody once said, "we have met the enemy, and it is us". I am a proud American, and I think we can do better. Senator Webb, good luck. I'm on your side. Can I have a job?

From Slate: Guantanamo is the Least of Our Problems by Dahlia Lithwick.

Also from Corey Yung, America's Emerging War on Sex Offenders is the latest by America's top sex offense criminal law analyst.

This is the abstract:

This article addresses four central questions. First, what is the difference between normal law enforcement policy and a “war” on crime? Second, assuming such a line can be discerned, has the enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“AWA”) in combination with other sex offender laws triggered a transition to a criminal war on sex criminals? Third, if such a criminal war is emerging, what will be the likely effects of such a transition? Fourth, if such a criminal war is emerging with substantial negative consequences, how can it be stopped?
By reviewing America’s history of criminal wars, primarily the War on Drugs, the article identifies three essential characteristics of a criminal war: marshalling of resources, myth creation, and exception making. It concludes that the federalization of sex offender policy brought about by the AWA elevated law enforcement to a nascent criminal war on sex crimes. This change could have repercussions as substantial as the drug war has had on American criminal justice an society.

Yung has completed another article, about judicial activism.

Here, at the Economist, is a piece called America's Unjust Sex Offender Laws. Includes an audio interview podcast with Sarah Geraghty, a lawyer and activist for reform in Georgia.