Women in Prison for Drug Crimes

The American Civil Liberties Union put out a heartbreaking publication that depicts the current situation with women in jail for drugs:

CAUGHT IN THE NET http://www.aclu.org/images/asset_upload_file431_23513.pdf

I recommend reading this document because it is very well thought out and comprehensive. Not only does it give basic facts and figures, it also gives personal stories and describes the domino effect, or the collateral damage, when you put a woman in jail.

Can you imagine living a lifestyle where selling drugs, or living with a drug dealer, was the only was you could get by?

Or maybe you got hooked and later got caught.

I don't believe that any woman really feels proud that her life has led her to be a dealer or to be addicted to drugs.

Nor do I think that any woman wants to have her children taken from her, or to give birth in jail and have her infant taken by the state.

Unfortunately, right now there is a woman somewhere giving birth to a baby and having that baby taken away by strangers.

There is a woman somewhere who was transferred to a different state to go to prison and hasn't seen her own children in years.

There is even a woman being raped in prison, with no one to believe her or care.

Many of these women are in prison because of their affiliation with men who committed crimes, but were not themselves profitting from drug sales.

Main points of the article:

*1997 incarceration cost:$26,000 per year

(or at least $52,000 per year for a woman with children in foster care)

*1997 cost of drug treatment: $6,800 residential per year

26K for a pointless excercise in punishment or 6.8K for real treatment? Hmmmm.

Do you want to pay for that? I can think of better ways to spend that 19.2K!!! How about child care, grants for college, or treatment for victims of domestic violence?

*2003: 58% of women in federal prisons were non-violent drug offenders

Drugs are definitely the main cause of women being behind bars.

"Researchers
consistently have found high levels of past
and current physical and emotional abuse in
the lives of women drug abusers."

Women are abused and turned to drugs, and then go to prison to have the message that they are worthless further pounded into their heads.

Women have barriers to seeking drug treatment:

"First, many would be forced to leave their children in the care of relatives or friends. Second, obtaining treatment requires them to disclose their drug use..."

By doing either one of the above, a woman risks the custody of her children.

WOMEN OF COLOR ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED IN PRISON!

One glaring example: In New York, women of color make up about a third of the general population. However, only 10 percent of the women in jail are white!

At least 65% of women in prison have a child.

Isn't the damage done to the child more criminal than the crime done by the mother???

PLEASE GO TO THE ARTICLE TO READ MORE!