Misguided Penal Policies of the American Legal System

The American criminal justice system presently is broken, and an example of justice run amok. The system has deteriorated to a point whereby innocent people are being imprisoned even with the lack of sufficient evidence. For the real criminals, punishments are often not commensurate with the crime. Presently, many nonviolent offenders serve more time behind bars than murderers, rapists, and armed robbers. Consequently, the criminal justice system does more harm than good - destroying lives, shattering dreams and crushing hopes and aspirations for happiness.

Being the world's largest democracy is supposed to make America a faithful steward of the fairest and finest legal system the world has ever known. However, the U.S. legal system runs counter to traditional American core values. 25% of total global prisoners reside in the U.S. even though America is only about 3% of the world's population. About "seven million are now under some form of penal supervision,"1 and roughly "100 million Americans - or as many as one in three - have a criminal record."2