BOTL segment excerpt:

The ineffectiveness of the “war on drugs” is not a new concept to listeners of this show. We regularly discuss the for-profit prisons, racist structure of the court system and hurtles impeding a return to full citizenship in clips as well as in our voicemail and commentary segments.

What’s often left out is a major (and politically inconvenient) cause of our prison population spike: mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Congress passed mandatory minimum sentencing laws in the 80’s as part of an attempt to appear “tough on crime.” Since then, the federal prison system has seen a nearly ten-fold increase in incarcerations. Consequently, one out of every four Department of Justice dollars is spent on locking up mostly nonviolent drug offenders in federal prisons.

Take Action:

Add your voice in support of common sense reform: Tell the Commission: Cut These Drug Sentences!” from Families Against Mandatory Minimums

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTL Activism: Families Against Mandatory Minimums, episode #798 "Learning to play nice with human nature (War on Drugs)”

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich