Quote:
Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield
This stems from the border issue. I've not read much about that issue, but one would hope the focus on that cruel practice would bleed over to a focus on the impact of ludicrous sentences on the children of inmates.
I understand we should not allow people to avoid justice simply because they have families. But the children of inmates have committed no crimes. Jailing a young mother for a decade under a mandatory minimum drug charge* sentences the kid to a lousy childhood and higher likelihood of committing a crime him/herself.
I doubt this conversation will take place, however. If we'll effectively jail kids of people who've committed no crimes, there's 0000.00 chance we'd consider mercy for the kids of those who have actually done so.
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Tyler Cowen rightly made that point in his most
recent column but I'm not sure it's really getting any traction. Seems pretty obvious that there's often greater harm in jailing parents and leaving the kids in limbo than in foregoing jail time as punishment.
