Former Patriot Brandon Browner Arrested for Kidnapping, Four Other Charges

[supafly]

The "War on Drugs" is an unmitigated disaster.

Although “The War on Drugs” is a fairly talented rock band, the concept itself failed miserably. It brought forth heavy sentences due to lots of mandatory minimums that were implemented, took away the discretion of those who work in the system (judges and prosecutors alike) and actually even put people in prison for life with the three strike laws enacted by many states.

It took the focus of the criminal justice system’s 3 main goals away (to punish, to deter, and to rehabilitate), and made it all about the first two, with little attention on attempts to rehabilitate. That of course, cost the taxpayers billions, led to the overcrowding of many prisons, the need to build even more prisons because of overcrowding, and the popularization of the privatization of prisons, which made incarceration even harder since standard of quality (already low) went down for things like nutrition, basic hygiene essentials, and sleeping quarters. And of course, most of all, it does nothing to address the issue at hand which is the illness of addiction and poor education, which means that we see a very high rate of recidivism, which I believe is approximately 2/3rds re-arrest rate within the first several years.

I used the subject of low level non-violent offenders and mandatory minimums as a big focus on my thesis project for my graduate degree, so I could ramble on all day about how badly the War on Drugs failed our country. It’s one of the reasons why I responded so thoroughly to Jar of Mayo’s post above, because I actually think that we’re making progress by changing up the approach. I think we’ve seen success both in the decriminalization of marijuana, as well as the implementation of drug courts, where you see heavy attention on one-on-one follow ups and a strong focus on rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, the overprescribing of opioids in the 90s, with OxyContin and Purdue Pharma pushing things over the top in the late 90s and early-mid 2000s have led to a terrible opioid epidemic, and we have our biggest challenge in the history of criminal justice to date at the moment.

 

[mosslost]

I’m sure he would’ve taking a knee if he was still in the NFL.

Equating the kneelers to something like this is pretty irresponsible. Obviously you are joking but it is not funny.

 

[lancerman]

if guilty, it’s life in prison for him

I don’t get why NFL players like him and McCoy make a big deal out of a 10K Rolex. That’s chump change for people like them, especially McCoy. If they are having issues with their ex GFs, just give them the damn Rolex in exchange for getting out of their lives...that’s what I would do.

You would think but most of them will be broke within 5 years.

 

[Kontradiction]

-Almost forgot, don't forget poor little helpless companies like Amazon (w/ over $400 billion in cash reserves before the big tax cut).. they actually pay inmates like $1/hour for high paying jobs like Programmers/Developers.. so they get to hire labor at a fraction of the minimum wage for their Fortune 500 corporation... Yippee!

There are very serious flaws with our justice system

It’s not right, but it isn’t illegal either. I don’t agree with it personally. Think of the poor, hard working slob that lost his or her job so some scumbag federal inmate can do it. But if it isn’t against the law, and it’s saving the company money and therefore increasing earnings for its shareholders, then why wouldn’t they continue to do it?

 

[Off The Grid]

Portugal isn’t America.

It is in Fall River.

Then I'm buying me a ticket to Fall River!! Lusitanians are gorgeous!!

Please note: I know that the legendarily exquisite Giselle Bundchen isn't really a Lusitanian...She's an Allemanian...But I stand by my position!!

 

[Off The Grid]

Portugal isn’t America.

It is in Fall River.

Not so!! Lusitania ~ "Portugal", to you Earthlings ~ isn't anywhere near Fall River.

 

[Ring 6]

Not so!! Lusitania ~ "Portugal", to you Earthlings ~ isn't anywhere near Fall River.

I think it was a joke.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

The "War on Drugs" is an unmitigated disaster.

Throw in the "War on Terrorism" too... Regarding "The War on Drugs" the literal boat loads of precursor chemicals is where the money is at.

 

[Patjew]

I think it was a joke.

It certainty wasn’t my best effort but I tried.

 

[Ring 6]

It certainty wasn’t my best effort but I tried.

Your batting average is pretty good.

 

[lancerman]

Can we just agree that drugs should be legal?

 

[The Brandon Five]

Can we just agree that drugs should be legal?

At the very least they should be decriminalized. Not sure why anyone is surprised that gang activity increases under prohibition, given our experience with alcohol prohibition.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

It’s not right, but it isn’t illegal either. I don’t agree with it personally. Think of the poor, hard working slob that lost his or her job so some scumbag federal inmate can do it. But if it isn’t against the law, and it’s saving the company money and therefore increasing earnings for its shareholders, then why wouldn’t they continue to do it?

I can't really blame them for taking advantage of a legal situation, but something about it just seems very wrong to me. Its not like Amazon is a struggling business trying to grow, so using inmates to increase stakeholder profits seems extremely dubious to me

I think a better solution would be to have them perform community service, not work for a Fortune 500 company to increase profits on wall street

Legality and morality don't always go hand in hand

 

[Kontradiction]

I can't really blame them for taking advantage of a legal situation, but something about it just seems very wrong to me. Its not like Amazon is a struggling business trying to grow, so using inmates to increase stakeholder profits seems extremely dubious to me

I think a better solution would be to have them perform community service, not work for a Fortune 500 company to increase profits on wall street

Legality and morality don't always go hand in hand

Oh no doubt. It’s wrong on multiple levels. But a manager’s first concern should be to increase profits for a company’s shareholders. If they’re putting anything else ahead of that, it’s unethical. So while I disagree with it on a personal level, I can’t fault them for taking advantage of what is essentially a legal loophole. What actually surprises me is how few people actually know about that. Amazon has done a great job keeping that under wraps and out of the court of public opinion (for the most part).

 

[The Brandon Five]

Oh no doubt. It’s wrong on multiple levels. But a manager’s first concern should be to increase profits for a company’s shareholders. If they’re putting anything else ahead of that, it’s unethical. So while I disagree with it on a personal level, I can’t fault them for taking advantage of what is essentially a legal loophole. What actually surprises me is how few people actually know about that. Amazon has done a great job keeping that under wraps and out of the court of public opinion (for the most part).

But why would the government provide a subsidy like that to a profitable business. It's fine if the government wants to keep part of their earnings to offset their living expenses, but to give Amazon that deal makes no sense.

 

[Ring 6]

But why would the government provide a subsidy like that to a profitable business. It's fine if the government wants to keep part of their earnings to offset their living expenses, but to give Amazon that deal makes no sense.

Business isn’t a bad thing. A government that promotes and aides business helps its country’s economy.
Business isn’t our enemy.

 

[Kontradiction]

But why would the government provide a subsidy like that to a profitable business. It's fine if the government wants to keep part of their earnings to offset their living expenses, but to give Amazon that deal makes no sense.

Follow the money. Amazon is likely aligned with the right people. It’s probably the same reason the FTC hasn’t hit them with an antitrust suit.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Business isn’t a bad thing. A government that promotes and aides business helps its country’s economy.
Business isn’t our enemy.

Helping one company does not equal helping the country. Selective corporate welfare like this is part of the problem.

 

[Ring 6]

Helping one company does not equal helping the country. Selective corporate welfare like this is part of the problem.

What in the world are you talking about?
This isn’t something created just for Amazon. Corporate welfare lol.
Inmates work for many companies.

When amazon or any other company makes money, who do you think benefits?

 

[catent]

Although “The War on Drugs” is a fairly talented rock band, the concept itself failed miserably. It brought forth heavy sentences due to lots of mandatory minimums that were implemented, took away the discretion of those who work in the system (judges and prosecutors alike) and actually even put people in prison for life with the three strike laws enacted by many states.

It took the focus of the criminal justice system’s 3 main goals away (to punish, to deter, and to rehabilitate), and made it all about the first two, with little attention on attempts to rehabilitate. That of course, cost the taxpayers billions, led to the overcrowding of many prisons, the need to build even more prisons because of overcrowding, and the popularization of the privatization of prisons, which made incarceration even harder since standard of quality (already low) went down for things like nutrition, basic hygiene essentials, and sleeping quarters. And of course, most of all, it does nothing to address the issue at hand which is the illness of addiction and poor education, which means that we see a very high rate of recidivism, which I believe is approximately 2/3rds re-arrest rate within the first several years.

I used the subject of low level non-violent offenders and mandatory minimums as a big focus on my thesis project for my graduate degree, so I could ramble on all day about how badly the War on Drugs failed our country. It’s one of the reasons why I responded so thoroughly to Jar of Mayo’s post above, because I actually think that we’re making progress by changing up the approach. I think we’ve seen success both in the decriminalization of marijuana, as well as the implementation of drug courts, where you see heavy attention on one-on-one follow ups and a strong focus on rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, the overprescribing of opioids in the 90s, with OxyContin and Purdue Pharma pushing things over the top in the late 90s and early-mid 2000s have led to a terrible opioid epidemic, and we have our biggest challenge in the history of criminal justice to date at the moment.

The band is absolutely phenomenal. I'll never forget hearing "An Ocean in Between the Waves" live on KCRW for the first time.