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Independence Institute: Justice Policy Initiative
Prison Spending and Sentencing Sentencing Laws Must Change: So the current opportunity cost of Colorado’s extreme prison spending spree is a quarter billion dollars that could have been spent on health care and higher education. Criminal sentencing bill is flawed, but debate over sentencing is long overdue: Colorado lawmakers have ignored out of control prison spending for far too long. Reducing Recidivism and Lowering Corrections Costs: It is a fairly simple formula, but an increase in prison spending as a percentage of the state's general fund necessarily means that other spending items have to decrease as a percentage of the general fund. Getting Smart on Crime: Time to Reform Colorado's Drug Offense Sentencing Policies. Colorado is in the midst of a prison population crisis. Overburdened state prisons and a demand for yet more new prison beds are in conflict with a state budget dilemma. Throwing Away Money: After several decades of an ambitious incarceration campaign, Colorado's booming prison population has run headlong into the fact that the state can spend only so much on corrections. Colorado's Prison Spending Meltdown: How long until prison spending breaks the bank? Prison costs are running out of control: Colorado taxpayers spend around $100 million a year to incarcerate drug offenders in state prisons. So it's worth asking why any kind of sentencing reform, which could save millions of dollars in prison spending, has been off the table in the budget debates of the last few years. Take the F Word Out: Too many drug felons cost Colorado taxpayers in more ways than just prison cells. Drug Policy Calling in the Guard: State Dems Get in Touch With Their Inner Drug-Warrior: A slavish devotion to drug prohibition in the United States has spawned predatory and hugely flawed practices at nearly every level of government. Colorado lawmakers have actually cranked up that devotion by turning the Colorado National Guard into really well armed drug police working on commission for the federal government. Amendment 44: Is treating grown-ups like children really a sound drug policy? The strategy of opponents to Amendment 44, which would re-legalize marijuana possession for adults in Colorado, goes something like this: In order to protect children from marijuana, we must also treat grown-ups like children. Breaking Ranks: Paying for a Statewide Methamphetamine Strategy is also an Opportunity to Declare Drug War Independence from Washington, D.C. When Policies Go to Pot: Colorado Should Take Back Control of Intra-state Drug War Priorities. Do drug warriors really think parents matter? Breaking news! Federal drug warriors discover that parents matter... kind of. Drug War Trumps Port Safety: The top objective of the U.S. Coast Guard's anti-terrorism strategy is to protect what's called the "U.S. Maritime Domain," including American ports. Pot enforcement a waste of resources: Our national addiction to marijuana prohibition leads to astonishing numbers of marijuana arrests. Medical Marijuana is a State's Rights Issue: Republicans are fair-weather federalists when is comes to medical marijuana. Analyze This: Re-modeling our failed drug policies. Overcriminalization Hold Onto Your Assets: Asset forfeiture laws in Colorado prior to 2002 were spawned out of the worst excesses of the war on drugs in the 1980s and '90s and turned the best practices of American justice upside down. How Many Laws Did You Break This Week? Colorado has more laws than any citizen can reasonably be expected to obey. Colorado’s silly seat belt laws: In the book “Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything,” author James V. DeLong writes, “When the government criminalizes almost everything, it also trivializes the very concept of criminality.” New Crimes Mean More Criminals: Colorado has plenty of both already. Take Click It or Ticket and Stick It: Can seat belt enforcement be any more dishonest? Real ID Act / National ID Card Unnecessary and Intrusive: REAL ID is a real threat to Colorado: To help Force Congress do its own dirty work, the Colorado Legislature should refuse to implement the REAL ID Act. Federal Drivers's Licenses: Can Colorado Say "NO"? REAL ID is an expensive, intrusive and unnecessary federal mandate on the states. Just Say No to National I.D. Cards |
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