Jail system corrupt?

This week in class we discussed the jail system here in the US. All of the readings and information we learned on the topic was shocking to me. 1% of our population is in jail, mostly for DRUGS? That seems absurd to me. Also, the fact that about 2/3 of people released from prison will be back in at some point in time. This just shows how the system clearly is not working! What shocked me most I think is that there usually are not programs to help people in jail. If someone is arrested for their drug use, maybe they need HELP to recover from their addiction, not to be locked up in a small room. The jail system is hardening criminals and encouraging drug use rather than solving the problems of the people and helping them to change. Another issue that clearly needs to be resolved is the issue of innocent until proven guilty. In the court and jail systems, it seems that oftentimes people are not given a fair chance to defend themselves and are simply assumed guilty. Last semester, in Political Though, we read the book, No Matter How Loud I Shout, which was about the juvenile justice system in America. Reading that novel further showed me how even with the treatment of juvenile crimes, they are choosing to lock up people rather than try to get them therapy and rehab. If people are merely in on drug use charges, I think that rather than over crowding the jails, rehab would clearly be the better option, but this is not the case in most of the country. Another clear issue is the lack of help for people with mental diseases. More people with mental disorders are in prisons in America than are in mental hospitals. This statistic is mind blowing to me! Overall, there need to be many changes to our court and jail systems, but I do not see major changes occurring in the near future, which is a sad fact.