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what, if any reforms would you make to the legal system - Question for all candidates

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posted on Jul, 2 2007 @ 11:15 AM
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Would you make reforms/changes to the legal system. And what benefits do you see any changes making?

Just for starters:

How would you make judges more accountable?

Should a life sentence mean not leaving prison until the prisoner is dead?

Chain gangs and serving the community


What else would you offer to the ATS electorate on legal reform?



posted on Jul, 2 2007 @ 11:32 AM
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From personal experience there is an infrastructure in place to wreck anyones life. If you know the right persons you can have anyones life wrecked and they have done nothing, and no one is accountable.

People abuse there jobs like police and others to wreck lifes of people they have some vendetta against from there lifes. All it takes for any adult life to be destroyed is for you to upset someone who works in these things or knows someone who works in these things.

How is this a proper system, which is upposed to be fair and for innocent people.

I suppose you will never get rid of people like these in the system, so maybe the system will always be broke.

the bit that gets me, is that your life can be destroyed by these so called forces, and you never did anything wrong, and you may be totally unaware it is being destroyed by such things, and you may think its just bad luck.



posted on Jul, 2 2007 @ 06:08 PM
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I would make several changes to the legal system.



1. I would bring all prisons back under federal and state government control and would
remove any private ownership.

2. I would make make sure that prison was about rehabilitation, not abdo punishment.
Being in prison is the punishment itself, the rest of the time should be about rehabilitating
someone to become a good productive member of society.

3. I would seek the legalization of all drugs or at the least the decriminalization of them.
I would also seek the nullification of sentences of all individuals who are in prison for possession
or only selling of drugs.

4. I would set-up programs in which prisoners would be paid minimum wage producing
products to be sold both here and abroad.

5. I would set-up a system where-in prisoners who are willing to work receive 25% of there
income for personal use in prison while another 25% goes to legal expenses.
The remaining 50% would go into a special account that would be for when they are out of prison,
it would be controlled so that the money could only be used for housing, food and essentials
until they have a stable job and home.


Those are the changes I can think of right now. I'm sure that over time issues would be raised
that I would have to deal with that I am not thinking of right now though.



posted on Jul, 7 2007 @ 09:40 PM
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Originally posted by Freedom ERP
Would you make reforms/changes to the legal system. And what benefits do you see any changes making?


My admin doesn't plan on making any major reforms the legal system.



How would you make judges more accountable?


Please elaborate on this question.
Do you mean held accountable to sentences laid down , the decisions they make or corruption ?


Should a life sentence mean not leaving prison until the prisoner is dead?


An life sentence should be an life sentence period. As for chain gangs you said it although it would be useful if the projects inmates worked on contributed more then just smashing rocks.




What else would you offer to the ATS electorate on legal reform?

[edit on 7-7-2007 by xpert11]



posted on Jul, 9 2007 @ 07:15 AM
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How would you make judges more accountable?



Please elaborate on this question.
Do you mean held accountable to sentences laid down , the decisions they make or corruption ?



[edit on 7-7-2007 by xpert11]


xpert11, You have touched on the point I was driving for in your answer.

What would you do (and all the candidates) do to hold judges accountable for their actions, for example



  • If the sentence handed down is seen as too heavy or too light
  • Their conduct in court
  • Are they fit and able to execute the office they hold



posted on Jul, 9 2007 @ 07:56 AM
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Providing that the sentence handed down is within the law then unless it can be proven that political motivations were an factor political interference in the day to day rulings by judges is unwise. That is not to be confused with debating the merits of the laws that are currently in place.

Judges should be held accountable just like any other person who is in an position of responsibility my admin would promote an culture that is based around the fact that authority figures are not above the law. Before appointing any judges to the Supreme Court an candidates background will have been researched and there mind set asset.

Any reforms to the legal system would have to come after closing the borders , dealing with illegal aliens and improving government departments and so on.



posted on Jul, 9 2007 @ 10:25 AM
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Originally posted by iori_komei
4. I would set-up programs in which prisoners would be paid minimum wage producing
products to be sold both here and abroad.

5. I would set-up a system where-in prisoners who are willing to work receive 25% of there
income for personal use in prison while another 25% goes to legal expenses.
The remaining 50% would go into a special account that would be for when they are out of prison,
it would be controlled so that the money could only be used for housing, food and essentials
until they have a stable job and home.

And once again the taxpayers get screwed.

I guess we've planted some money trees.



posted on Jul, 9 2007 @ 11:55 AM
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Originally posted by Freedom ERP
Would you make reforms/changes to the legal system. And what benefits do you see any changes making?


I think one of the worst assumptions made about the prison system is that these are not human beings in jail, but rather monsters whom prey upon society. In fact, most offenders did little more than posess an illegal substance, or committed a nonviolent crime, such as shoplifting.

Inside the Pen is an underworld system that acts as a combination of warring feudal systems and an overal university for criminal acts. roughly two-thirds of all inmates released from prison return back to jail within three years. Roughly one in every one-hundred people are now in prison or a juvenile detention facility, and the rate goes up each year. The overcrowding itself causes problems, with inmates sometimes packed in as many as six to a 2-bunk cell for years on end.

The problem is cyclical, the original crime is usually the result of poverty status, a lack of education, and poor parenting. The first arrest is almost certainly not the first offense, but merely the first one at which they were caught by police. Relatively minor criminals become hardened by inhuman conditions in jail, where they become educated only in serving time, and learning crime. Once they are released, they return to the only occupation they know, which is crime, until such time as they are caught again.

To address these problems, I suggest the following:


  • Addressing the Issue of Prison Rape - Prison rape, especially in men's prisons, is one of the worst epidemics in the system. It is currently not even talked about, much less punished. In many prisons, the wardens even use it as a constant threat to gain the compliance of prisoners. It's a taboo topic, an uncomfortable subject even to think about, but it needs to stop. The severe physical and psychological trauma aside, it spreads diseases among the inmates.

  • Legalize any drugs less addictive than cigarettes - The original reasons for many drugs being outlawed were mistaken impressions about their addiction rates. The idea being that one would crave the drug so much they would commit other crimes to obtain it. Some drugs, such as marijuanna, '___', and others, are not even as addictive as the average cigarette. If one can smoke cigarettes and not end up breaking into houses and mugging people to afford cigarette money, then I'm pretty sure we're safe with the less addictive drugs. This would eliminate the #1 and #2 sources of our prison population.

  • Put convicts to work within trade skills - Part of the reason 2/3 of released prisoners return to prison is a lack of job skills, functional literacy, or the discipline neccessary to hold a job. If a prisoner were taught how to read, write, behave in a disciplined fashion in the work force, and to be able to properly execute a few commonly needed job skills, the revolving prison door might see less return business. And if a prisoner still ends up returning to jail, they would now lack the excuse of having a lack of education.

  • Establishment of "Convicts Anonymous" - Many ex-cons have a lot of trouble re-integrating back into society, especially if they spent any significant portion of their time in isolation. This has been known to cause everything from violent outbursts to purposeful crimes with the intent of getting arrested and sent back to prison, where they are more comfortable. This mindset is known as "Institutionalized". Convicts Anonymous would, much like it's alcoholic cousin, be a support group of ex-convicts whom have learned to peacefully re-integrate into society and assume roles as productive legal citizens, preventing yet more return business.

  • Discharge Mental Patients to Mental Health Wards - Obviosuly some pretty strict standards would have to be set, but battered women, mentally handicapped, and those with severe psychological disorders, will simply not be helped by spending time in prison. The absolute best-case scenario for such people is that they would end up a repeated rape victim who learns how to be a criminal. The worst case scenario is that their mental disorders become so much worse-off that they become a violent psychopath.

  • Voluntary and Involuntary Monitoring - This is going to be the most controversial aspect, I imagine, but I would suggest that non-violent offenders would have the option of having their sentance commuted if they volunteered themselves for monitoring (ie. RF Chipping). This would allow for some freedom of choice, while freeing up yet more prison space, and allow for easy tracking of non-violent offenders, as well as provide them the opportunity to prove they are innocent because of the tracking data. The RF chip would be removed at the end of their sentance. Those who commit capital crimes would be involuntarily chipped and monitored for their entire sentance, even if given parole. For instance, at the end of the standard 20-year time served for "Life", the chip would never be removed.

  • Violent, Mentally Able Offenders To Receive Therapy - Finally, one cannot merely assume that a violent offender is simply a monster either. In some cases, such as self-defense, heat of the moment, or vigilante justice, one commits a violent crime without criminal intent or premeditation. Repeated therapy with positive and negative reinforcement of correction, would help to ensure that many violent offenders never commit the same mistakes twice.


    Of course there will be monsters, and there are some that no amount of help, mercy, or discipline will ever correct. These aberrations are the unfortunate byproduct of their own choices, and I have little sympathy for them. But for those would would actually change their ways and make something of their life, I feel it is important to offer that sort of choice. Sticking everyone in a box indiscriminantly is not the answer, and it never has been.



  • posted on Jul, 9 2007 @ 08:46 PM
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    One of my policy's is to legalize Marijuana whether or not this is classed as an part of reforming the legal is slightly subjective. When it comes to reforming the legal system I tend to view the questions in the sense of making major changes to how or what the US legal system is based on.

    For example an major change would be to have a system based on the fact that people are presumed guilty. I don't support such an notion but I just thought that I needed to clear the air in this case.



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