Jail

Jails are overcrowded everywhere, but especially here in the U.S. We have protection from cruel and unusual punishment in the Constitution, but does that mean jail has to be the answer to every crime? It seems cruel to me to put tax evaders and child rapists through the same system. But if we stop sending everyone to jail, we have to figure out some other method of punishing people for their crimes. Something fair and standardized, but not always JAIL. Cruel and unusual isn't synonymous with innovative. A fairer justice system would take into account the reality of our penal system, which is disproportionally punative for many crimes. We are a sophisticated modern society, but we lack any sophistication in the way we punish those who break society's rules. Once we find new ways, better ways, to punish certain crimes, the overcrowding of our prisons will decrease or desist, and we'll all be better off for it.