2 Minute Speech: (Argument Extension Pro #2)

Let me begin with a few facts and figures.

America has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
1 out of 100 adults are in prison, and we incarcerate 5 times the world average.
Does this sound like an effective system?
There are two possibilities. Either we as Americans are inherently more violent,
more prone to criminal activity, than any other culture in the world, or our prison
system is flawed. I believe that the latter is more reasonable.
The prison system in America is broken, and the Three Strikes Law is an example of
that. There are some things that this law represents. First, it represents that we do
not believe in the sanctity or value of human life.
Instead, we believe in using a pre-determined formula to ascribe a punishment for
ANYone who has committed 3 quote and quote serious offenses. If youve
committed 3 serious offenses, you will be in prison for 25 to life. Your life will be
effectively ruined by the government.
This isnt the main problem, if the crime deserves such repercussions. First and
foremost, the problem is that we are treating all crimes and all situations the same.
We use this magical number why 25 years to life? Why not 17, or 28?
The guy who came up with the 3 strikes law had his daughter taken away from him
in the most horrific way. Although no man deserves to experience the pain of losing
a loved one through murder, it does not warrant us the right to abuse the prison
system with policies such as the 3 strikes law.
Judges reserve the right to come to fruition with a fitting punishment, a punishment
that could be unique for any given case. A one punishment fits all notion is
nonsensical as it comes from an acceptance of the idea that we can destroy
someones life without giving it any thought. It is a violation of our right to fair trial.
We trust judges with their many years of schooling as well as other qualities as those
capable of making right decisions. Why should we take away this power when
deciding the fate of the rest of someones life? Every life is different; every context is
different. This law is inhumane on the most basic of levels. [2:17]

This policy and others like it have resulted in the U.S. becoming a nation that
specializes in ignoring problems. We spend 60 billion dollars on cleaning up our
mess in the short term, 6 times more on prisons than education. In doing so, we
ignore the long-term solutions to these problems. We our wasting billions of dollars
on locking people up instead of investing money in education, in efficient
government programs, in safer communities.

Americans arent inherently violent. Nor are we natural-born criminals. But let
anyone grow up in a situation where there is no hope for a better life, no way out
through progress or education, let anyone grow up in a neighborhood filled with drug
dealers on the corners, drive-by shootings, gun shots keeping you awake at night,
and its not hard to believe that the society we experience everyday can shape our
actions and who we become.
The 3 strike law is the paradigm of how Americas prison system is broken. We
neglect, rather than heal. We lock up, rather than reform. We spend money patching
up small holes in a sinking ship that is entrenching our nation in debt, and leaving
our people without an education, without hope, and then consequentially locking
them away for their wrongdoings. This is philosophically and inherently wrong.
Repeal the 3 strike law and we can begin to steer America towards her true
potential.

Facts and Figures (about a flawed society)

Once released from prison, 2 out of 3 are rearrested within a year.
In 1982 state prison budget was 9 billion
In 2009 state prison budget exceeds 60 billion
Crime rates in America have been dropping for the last 15 years, while budget
spending has increased steadily.
The U.S. spends 6 times more money on prisons than education.
California in 2006 spent 8,000 dollars on one student in the Oakland School district.
California in 2006 spent 216,000 dollars on one juvenile inmate.
Over the course of the last 20 years, the amount of money spent on prisons
increased by 570%, while the money spent on education increased by only 33%.
Over 75% of inmates are illiterate at a 12th grade reading level.
Less than 20% of inmates have their high school diploma.