Guys, you're just being loony. First, whether the population of non-violent drug offenders in prison is too high is not a matter of RIGHTS. No reasonable person would contend that our democratically-arrived-at drug laws are a violation of a misconception of RIGHTS. Clearly, the government has a valid interest in regulating possibly dangerous drugs, as indeed is the consensus within ALL developed nations.
Second, the argument that a black person has fewer rights in America is unpersuasive. The problem is that the government is not meeting what seems to me to be its clear responsibility in providing adequate defense for those charged with crimes. It is also clear that education in this country is so inadequate that most people cannot effectively "aid in their own defense" and without serious efforts by counsel are not competent even to make pleas.
There is a reasonable case to be made that juries are biased and that this should be dealt with along the lines of the "jury or his peers" requirement. What this would mean practically is unclear, however. After all, many states allow the defense a lot of leeway in striking potential jurors before trial.
I absolutely stand by my contention that most black prisoners, indeed most prisoners, are guilty. Yes, those who are poor and victims of racism are less likely to be guilty individually, but at the same time poor communities are also likely to have inadequate law enforcement. With the large number of recidivist prisoners in America, that almost certainly means that many people in prison should probably be there for more crimes than they were convicted of.
Wojtek's point about parole violations is completely misguided. The enforcement of terms of parole in this country is a joke. Paroles are violated with abandon and most jurisdictions put far too few resources into their parole systems. Up here in Washington, one of our counties simply expunged many hundreds of outstanding warrants, many for parole violations, simply to cut the budget, effectively freeing hundreds of criminals into our state's poor communities.
Chuck O's contention that what I said was racist is beneath contempt.
peace,
boddi