[ilbegone]

It would be one thing if hardened criminals were targeted.

However, "tough on crime" wins elections and convictions bring in money to District Attorneys Offices.

So, rather than screening cases for merit or considering alternatives, prosecutors file on every piddling, chock full of creative fiction police report which comes through the door.

Not everyone can hire quality representation ($$$$$), and face it, the public defender is on the judges' payroll.

So the jails are full of people who shouldn't be there.

We also have to look at the lack of societal help given to former convicts and the hounding released convicts get from the legal system.

A friend, former large scale cultivator of cannabis and making the bad choice of having a bipolar girlfriend after serving his sentence (which compounded his problems), is a perfect example. The man is on supervised parole and can't get a job because no one is going to hire a convicted felon in a county with 13% unemployment. A former co worker in another state has built up a company which installs and splices fiber optic cable and called out of the blue offering a job.

The parole officer is sympathetic, but rules are rules and there is at least a three month process to transfer parole supervision to another state, whether or not the county in the other state will accept him. Then there is the problem that the fiber optic work moves from state to state - he would have to transfer supervision in every case. Can't be done.

The parole officer suggested that he pay off his fines (additional to time served), petition the court to have his convictions reduced to misdemeanors and be placed on unsupervised probation.

Just one catch: He can't pay off his fines because he doesn't have a job and he doesn't have anything to sell - he's destitute.

The man just turned 60 and he's sleeping on his parent's couch.