Via Steve Benen, we find Jim Webb on the right track.
This spring, Webb (D-Va.) plans to introduce legislation on a long-standing passion of his: reforming the U.S. prison system. Jails teem with young black men who later struggle to rejoin society, he says. Drug addicts and the mentally ill take up cells that would be better used for violent criminals. And politicians have failed to address this costly problem for fear of being labeled "soft on crime."
It's not just that our rising prison population costs an incredible amount of money and that two thirds of the people released go back anyway. It's that inmates are concentrated into particular communities, where they are a destabilizing force. It's not that they want to be, it's that prison is a traumatic experience that doesn't prepare someone to hold a job or raise a family. In a space where many young men are missing their fathers and respect is priceless as social currency, men coming home from prison inevitably have an influence on the younger generation. It's often a bad influence. But it doesn't have to be: reforming the formerly incarcerated isn't just a matter of keeping them out of prison, the potential influence on the culture of isolated urban poor is something that needs to be considered. A young person who is getting pulled into the streets may not want to listen to teachers, clergy, or even their parents, but they might listen to someone who has actually been there.
This may seem like a longshot, given the dominance of "tough on crime" rhetoric in our political culture. But the Second Chance Act was signed by George W. Bush, and for the first time ever, prison reform advocates might have an ally in the White House. So bigger things may be possible after January 20.
-- A. Serwer
