Blog May 27, 2010
But We NEED Scapegoats!
Isn’t “Jew violence” a terrible plague? Dave “Son of Sam” Berkowitz whose serial slaughter terrorized New York City, or Joel and Hannah Steinberg’s brutal child murder? Or the “Moslem violence” that killed 3,000 on 9⁄11? The “Latino Violence” and “African Violence” that cause two-thirds of California’s homicides, robberies, and assaults? Shouldn’t we stand up to the “Christian violence” that occurs every time a Protestant or Catholic commits a brutality? “Queer violence”? What… you find…
Blog May 19, 2010
Fabricating Arizona’s “Immigrant Crime Wave”
Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly (among others, including prominent Republicans such as Sarah Palin) has repeatedly blamed Arizona’s “500,000 illegal aliens” for (in O’Reilly’s words) bringing a crime wave in Arizona, particularly Phoenix, that is “overwhelming… dangerous… through the roof,” creating social chaos” so “desperate” and “dangerous,” that the state had to impose its draconian immigration crackdown law (Fox News reports of May 3, 4, 6, 13, and 14). “Arizona had to do…
Blog May 18, 2010
The Supreme Court and Life without Parole
On May 17, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6 – 3 decision that life sentences without the chance of parole for crimes (except murder) committed by juveniles was unconstitutional, in violation of the Eighth Amendment that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. In the case before the court two juveniles — Joe Sullivan, who raped a 72-year-old woman when he was 13, and Terrance Graham, who committed armed burglary when he was 16 — were sentenced to life without the possibility of…
Blog May 15, 2010
The $100,000 bed
About a week ago someone sent me a story in the Pahrump Valley Times about a proposed new jail. For those not familiar with Pahrump, it is a town of about 25,000 located about 60 miles west of Las Vegas. The County Commissioners decided to issue $25.5 million in general obligation bonds for the project. The proposed jail would hold about 225 people. That turns out to be $113,000 per bed. The report noted that the County “will take advantage of Build America Bonds under the American…
Blog May 12, 2010
Therapy that Works for the Youth
Senior Research Fellow Randy Shelden’s recent blog, titled ” The Washington State Institute for Public Policy researched a program that has demonstrated the ability to be successful with juvenile justice involved youth with mental health issues. The results are in…Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) does reduce recidivism, thus reducing the related costs to taxpayers. DBT, devised by Marsha Linehan, to treat clients with Borderline Personality Disorders is composed of four major modules:…