Prison Reform

From a Dish Reader:

I grew up in a small town in Georgia.  Many - at least half a dozen - of my (white, upper-middle class) friends got into trouble with the law during high school or college.  Alcohol and other drug charges, DUI, assault, vandalism; you know, the kind of stupid shit that young men often do.  For example, one of my friends got caught by the with multiple doses of LSD and ecstasy; he's now an anesthesiologist.  These kids almost always got off with minimal punishment after a few crucial phone calls were placed.  It was a huge corruption of the legal system, and I've wondered since just how widespread the problem is, especially in small towns.  It was funny how these Republican parents were all about law and order until their children got into trouble.  See, they child was really a good kid who had just temporarily gone astray.  The ultimate message was that prison time was for "the other."

It's amazing how much mandatory minimum have put DA's in the driving seat of the justice system instead of judges.