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North Carolina Green Party
October 20, 2003
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Alan Burns: 704 333 8147 (h), 704 408 7088 (w)
Jerry Surh: 919 783 5398 (h), 919 513 2219 (w)
Elena Everett: (919) 413-1276
NC Green Party says Rush shouldn’t go to jail;
Nonviolent drug offenders should get treatment, not imprisonment.
DURHAM: Following the lead of the Wisconsin Green
Party, the North Carolina Greens this week called for Rush Limbaugh, if
found guilty of purchasing prescription drugs illegally in Florida, to
receive treatment for his addiction rather than jail time.
Mr. Limbaugh once said, “There’s nothing good
about drug use. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs,
using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what
happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed
by them. And so, if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they
ought to be accused, they ought to be convicted, and they ought to be
sent up.”
The Greens disagree with Rush Limbaugh and urge him,
rather than voluntarily committing himself to prison on his principles,
to consider a treatment program that would save the taxpayers of Florida
at least $14,500 a year.
Florida currently spends $1.5 billion a year on
prisons. Not including the capital costs of building prison facilities,
it costs between $18,000 and $22,000 a year to house, clothe and feed a
Florida inmate. Effective drug treatment programs cost $3,500 a
year.
In keeping with the Green Party’s state and
national platforms, the leadership of the North Carolina Green Party
said that if Limbaugh’s crimes were victimless, he should not be
incarcerated, a punishment that often aggravates a person’s
criminal profile.
“The long sentences being handed down for
nonviolent drug offenses these days are unconscionable,” said state
co-chair Alan Burns. “We’re often taking otherwise productive
individuals – like Mr. Limbaugh – out of their communities and away
from their families, rooming them with hardened criminals and wasting
tax dollars in a time of nationwide budget hardships.”
“There is room for hope,” said Green media
officer Hart Matthews, “Studies show that Mr. Limbaugh’s chances of
being sentenced to prison are substantially lower than if he were poor,
urban or had dark skin.”
www.gp.org
www.ncgreenparty.org
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Drug War facts from various sources:
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More than half of all state and federal inmates
are drug offenders. (The Sentencing Project)
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At least half of all imprisoned drug offenders
are nonviolent criminals. (Justice Policy Institute)
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White and black males are equally likely to use
illegal drugs. Black males are several times more likely to be
arrested for drugs. (JusticePolicy Institute)
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“While African Americans constitute 13% of all
monthly drug users, they represent 35% of arrests for drug
possession, 55% of convictions and 74% of prison sentences.” (The
Sentencing Project: “Young Black Americans and the Criminal
Justice System: Five Years Later”)
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In the last 20 years, since shortly after the
War on Drugs began, the number of people imprisoned in the United
States has risen more than 400 percent. Spending on incarceration
has multiplied nearly sixfold. (Sourcebook of Criminal Justice
Statistics, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice)
Green Party of the United States Platform:
Criminal Justice
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Any attempt to combat crime must begin with
restoration of community and positive approaches that build hope,
responsibility and a sense of belonging, as well as addressing the
economic and social root causes of crime. These should get priority
over proposals to put more firepower on the streets, threatening
criminals with harsher sentences, and building more prisons.
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Yet, we support law enforcement approaches that
are firm and directly address violent crime, street crime, and
trafficking in hard drugs.
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We support independent civilian review of police
misconduct and carefully considered gun control. We oppose the death
penalty, the privatizing of prisons, and mandatory drug testing.
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We support judicial reform that opens up the
court system, making it affordable and convenient to ordinary
citizens.
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We support decriminalization of
"victimless" crimes, for example, the possession of small
amounts of marijuana.
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We support legalization of industrial hemp.
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We support an end to the "war on
drugs."
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We support expanding drug counseling and
treatment, innovative sentencing and punishment options, including
community service for nonviolent crimes.
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