Some thoughts on penal reform

1. Abolish the federal death penalty and that in the 32 states still practicing state sponsored murder.

2. End life sentences as well which simply consign taxpayers to fund the nation's largest collection of nursing homes for many thousands of elderly inmates. Complement this step with procedures to insure dangerous offenders' sentences can be incrementally expanded if still deemed a danger to society.

3. Drastically reduce minimum sentences for serious crime to give responsible judges discretion to impose sensible sentences based on individual circumstances.

4. Greatly expand home confinement and work release for non-violent offenders not likely to repeat their offences.
 
5. Expunge every one of the millions of convictions for non-trafficking drug possession and release every prisoner serving time for drug possession.

6. transition every private prison to a government facility, eliminating the business model of profiting from incarcerating human beings.

7. Reduce recidivism by Investing much of the savings from these reforms to provide educational, job training and mental health services for the 2.3 million languishing in the American penal gulag.

8. Set a goal of reducing our percentage of the world's prison population from 25% to the 5% which our total population represents.

That is just 8. Surely there are many more.