Crime and Punishment

Due to the severity of mandatory minimums and the impact it has had on this country's prison population, it is my opinion that the use of informants by the government is a shameful disgrace! When you are dealing with a person's life, and the fact that a drug conviction, or any conviction with such severe punishment, can mean the end of that life on the outside every effort should be made by the government to see to it that the evidence used to gain a conviction is solid physical evidence gathered through just unmistakable means. Moreover, where is the power of this country's government anyway! Look, before cocaine reaches America it must be growned, harvested, procesed, packaged then shipped into this country, via air, land, or sea. Who but the government has control over every entry point into this country? It seems to me if drugs are a problem the issue for the government to solve is to stop it before it reaches our communities. It should be clear to all Americans by now that the current drug policies are not working. Does America have the funds to house these prisoners, many for the rest of their natural lives! What happens when they get old and are in need of expensive medical care? Statistics shows that there are currently 117 convicitions daily. The prison population is almost over 2 million. Thus, the current policies have not deterred drug activities in our communities.