i wish the courts would understand more about drug addiction we need more treatment centers i feel in my heart once you get to the mental part the addiction part would be much better less crime less people in prison but how are we going to do this when its all about money not helping the people at least if they would try for more treatment center but they dont do that so lets try something we never have yet and i would bet you would see a very good out come im going though this now with my son getting ready to go to prison because of addiction

All state prisons"are safer from a public health perspective and a security perspective as a direct result of this program,"Corrections Department attorney David Tatarsky wrote in an August response to the Department of Justice.

I have been studying the problems with our prison system for 5 months now and gathering information.My son is caught up in this very broken system which is sad and unethical.It is a failure to say the least.The main problem is there is no treatment for mental health issues or drug addiction.It is very hard to find a loved one help with no insurance.We "lock up" non violent offenders when studies have shown by many professionals these people have disorders that can be treated with success.Our prisons and jails have become mental health centers.When a person has a mental health issue and an addiction it is called "dual disorder" or co-occurring disorder" There have been grants available to change these issues since 2000 through SAMHSA a government funded grant making organization for disorders.Our state has been negligent in keeping up on advancements and taking advantage of the many organizations in which to attain grants for treatment for these individuals.For instance my son begged his parole officer to send him to a rehabilitation center for addiction and depression.She would not send him hence he has been sent back to that awful place which will never help him.Most of these non violent offenders were also diagnosed with ADHD when they were young.There are not many ways to get treatment for a co-occurring disorder.These are disorders a person does not choose.Usually they get in the judicial system due to not being able to attain treatment.Then they try to "self medicate" because they never feel normal due to fluctuations of dopamine in the brain.These fluctuations cause depression and also at times extreme agitation.With medication and counseling these individuals become productive citizens.There are some who have not been diagnosed in the system due to lack of education in our state on these issues.Our state of South Carolina is very uneducated when it comes to mental health,drug addiction and co-occurring disorders.I am trying to start a non profit organization called Pathways of Hope to help individuals who come out on probation and parole to get the counseling and help they need.I've found the funding.Now I have to get the right people.I'm very sorry to say that those in authority have been negligent and uniformed about these issues.I highly disagree with Henry Mcmaster.He has no first hand knowledge in this area and does not understand the problem.To fix a problem you must first understand it.A big Thank You to the Counsel Of State governments for their efforts and for helping those without knowledge to get knowledge.I just wish they would be a little more assertive.These people in South Carolina are stubborn and closed minded.I have contacted the governor on numerous occasions only to be ignored.On a final note.Legislation needs to fund mental health centers,and co-occurring rehabs for those on parole and probation needing the treatment to stop recidivism.These people need treatment not punishment.Also parole and probation need to be educated about these issues of addiction and mental health if they are going to be supervising them.The solution is really not that hard.I don't see why it wasn't changed years ago.It only takes people who care.Obviously no one has yet.Mental health issues are misunderstood and highly overepresented in the media.These individuals are not like Jason on Friday the 13th.They simply have disorders that cause them to have depression and also some may have times of hallucination.These disorders can be treated to make for productive people and cut down on recidivism.Counseling and treatmnet have been proven in other states to cut down crime rate and recidivism.

I woul like to Thank you! for taking the time to address this issue.
We are very quick to judge those that get involved in to the jail/prison system. We never do more intence research on how this misfortunate cityzens/persons. got in to this situations in the first place, I have done research one on one and I have been a victim of police brutality as well.
I suffer a disability, I know many many people that have been treated unjustly and their lives torn apart due to unnesessary police brutality as well as ruining their reputation to the point of not being able to be employed anywhere after their unnesessary police reports and forze.

I think that truth in sentencing would result in less rescitivism, for one reason only:
The way criminals think is in terms of self-justification.
If the system proves to be a pack of liars and a pound of fools in his eyes, then he is more likely to feel justified in further acts of crime. Truthfulness in sentencing and no parole changes all that. Except it puts a lot of lawyers out of business; but who cares. Judges can then feel free to be more like judges than number crunchers.
And what is wrong with truthfulness anyway ?
Without truthfulness we are as disreputable as those whom we judge, in many instances.

The middle court is a great idea because petty crime should never be linked to violent and serious crime in any sense, just as the guest speaker and head of corrections has shown.
Prisons create criminals out of those who would have desisted from their crimes, should they have had an alternative.

Under the watchful eye of Big Brother, South Carolina's justice system needs to prove itself to be more truthful and just than all others in the nation, setting the example for the rest, rather than being an eyesore and a cause for complaint.

Having worked with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies I find one major flaw in Mr. McMasters thinking concerning the criminal element. Most never considered the consequences of their action prior to committing the crime and this will not change. No matter what the punishment, a criminal is not going to stop and think well if I do this I will get 5 years or if I do that I will get 10 years.

I have personally spoken with thousands of inmates and I can count on one hand the number that actually thought about the punishment they would probably receive.

The middle court is a good idea.

If the legislature decided to pass the tougher sentencing law they better be ready to fund not only the Department of Corrections but Juvenile Justice, Probation, Parole and Pardon, Vocational Rehabilitation and the courts.

Look at the Big Picture.