The Truth About Morality

Recently, columnist Cal Thomas bemoaned the Michael Jackson verdict. He views the case as a reflection of society and our unwillingness to establish which behaviors are acceptable and which are not. Nothing is wrong any longer," he says, because nothing is right. Federal Prison Policy Project has different views.

     Columnist Cal Thomas recently bemoaned the Michael Jackson verdict. He views the case as a reflection of society and our unwillingness to establish which behaviors are acceptable and which are not. Nothing is wrong any longer," he says, because nothing is right. In such an environment, who is to say that anyones behavior should be judged?"

     Where do we draw the line? Thomas makes a good argument, until you consider the fact that today over 2.1 million men and women are sitting in U.S. prisons. Evidently a line has been drawn in our tolerance of behavior because the United States leads the world in prison population per capita. At an average cost of $28,000 per year per prisoner in custody, that works out to an estimated cost of $58.8 billion per year that we spend just to house prisoners. This doesnt include the cost of building and maintaining prison facilities, nor does it include the cost of law enforcement and courts to apprehend and process criminals. Recently the U.S. Marshals Service spent almost one million dollars on a single week-long operation to apprehend wanted fugitives. Based on these numbers, we at Federal Prison Policy Project would say our society has made a significant commitment to what we consider to be right" and wrong".

     Mandatory minimum sentencing, long prison terms, and the continually increasing criminalization of every aspect of our society have created a mushrooming prison culture. How can we as American citizens question societys morals and values when our nation invests billions of dollars every year incarcerating people? How can this happen if we dont have clearly defined mores and guidelines for acceptable behavior? Based on criminal justice statistics, one would assume that our society takes morals and values very seriously.

     But what if Thomas is correct? What if we dont have a clear sense of right and wrong? Is this why we have so many people incarcerated? Were not sure, so we lock up everyone? How do we reestablish cultural norms that promote our sense of security? Who do we trust if we choose to embark on this journey of discovery?

     In 1980 there were a total of 503,586 people incarcerated in the United States. That number more than doubled in ten years to 1,148,702. That number increased to 2,078,570 by 2003. That same year, there was an adult correctional population of 6,889,800 people. This staggering number includes the incarcerated population and also those who are on some form of supervision such as probation or parole. In 2003, 1 in every 32 adults in the U.S. was in this correctional population. If each of these individuals has four immediate family members or friends (a low estimate), this puts the total number of people in direct influence and contact with the criminal justice system at 34.5 million people, 1 in every 8.5 people in the United States. These numbers continue to increase at a steady pace every year. The chances of you personally knowing someone directly involved with the criminal justice system are extremely high. The chances of you being directly involved in the criminal justice system are also very high.

     It stands to reason that such a large constituency would organize and make itself heard. 34.5 million people with something in common should be taken seriously. Grassroots prison and sentencing reform organizations and support groups are growing in numbers along with the prison population, and they are flexing their muscle in the political arena. Deplorable prison conditions are being brought to light; harsh sentencing laws are being questioned; and budgets are being examined. The correctional population is being analyzed and the impact on society is being studied. Large segments of society are disenfranchised; families are disrupted; 1.5 million children under the age of 18 have one or both parents in prison; money pours away from schools, economic development, and infrastructure towards prisons and the corrections industry. People are speaking out against the prison culture that has evolved over the last 20 years. 34.5 million people are redefining what is acceptable and discussing what is moral and just. The government is establishing new priorities and advocating for change in a system that is viewed as bankrupt literally and figuratively.

     This reform movement has captured the attention of the Bush administration. The politicos who tout morals and values have gone on the attack by issuing reports" that question the correctional reform movement. In Untangling the Statistics: Numbers dont lie – but they can deceive" (www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov), the motives and tactics of reform advocates are questioned. Drug advocates often select only those portions of the available data that support their position, ignoring facts and context that would point to a very different conclusion…arguments built on shaky ground can still be quite persuasive, especially if they tug at the heartstrings and stir outrage over an apparent injustice." Really…and the administration is not guilty of manipulating information to further their agenda?

     The fact is, in 25 years the federal prison population has increased 760% from 24,252 to the current 184,652. The fact is, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has 112 institutions, with 10 of those built in the last two years. The fact is, some high security USPs are being converted to medium security FCIs because medium-security prisoners are a rapidly expanding population within the prison system". Does the fact that the majority of federal prisoners are low-medium security level match with the rhetoric coming from the tough-on-crime policy makers who insist that we are safer with millions of violent" people suspended in the correctional system? Is our society so corrupt that 12% of us are either incarcerated, supervised, or the family member of someone who is?

     Cal Thomas concluded his thoughts about the Jackson case by saying, Our tolerance for everything has produced an unwillingness to restrict anything." We at Federal Prison Policy Project agrees. Our tolerance for the correctional culture has produced an unwillingness to restrict it. Thomas believes that we need to reevaluate what is acceptable in our society and reestablish a culture of right and wrong. 2.1 million people in prison and we dont know whats right and whats wrong! How sad that so many individuals and families, communities, and the nation sacrifice so much in the war against crime in the name of morality when the predominant political agenda contradicts this by portraying a nation that is morally bankrupt. The government's answer to this dubious problem is to criminalize even more behaviors and put more people in prison.

     White House pundits tell us, Sometimes, in fact, the truth lies not so much in having the right information, but in grasping the full context." Did we just read that correctly? Does this mean they believe its acceptable to deceive the American people as long as they think its acceptable? Does this mean they believe the facts dont matter as long as we accept their version of the truth? Is it possible that as individuals we do know what is right and wrong, but as a nation we have become, as Thomas says, too tolerant – too tolerant, that is, of what our leaders do and say? Is it possible that the tough-on-crime policies that have impacted millions of people are a gross manipulation to win elections and divert scarce resources to the burgeoning corrections economy?

     As prison populations grow, so does the constituency that is directly impacted by this atrocity. When we look at the facts and place them in the full context, what we see is a pronounced deficiency in the very moral fiber of the people who preach morals to the rest of us. It is time to redefine the priorities of our society and move away from a culture based on fear and reprisal to a culture that truly values its members. Prison and sentencing reform should be at the top of our priority list. Its the right thing to do.

LouAnn Blacketer, Ph.D.
Federal Prison Policy Project