After Spending a Year in Prison, Former State Senator Condemns Mass Incarceration

[LiberalArkie]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/after-spending-year-prison-former-state-senator-condemns-mass-incarceration

Once a rising star in Missouri Democratic politics, former State Senator Jeff Smith served a year in prison after he pled guilty to conspiracy for an election law violation tied to the 2004 campaign. In an interview with Democracy Now!, Smith talked about his time in jail and his critique of the prison system. “There’s a lot of respects in which prison actually causes more crime,” he told Amy Goodman, “and a key one is that when people come out, and they’re already in debt, they probably don’t have any community or family support, they don’t have a place to live, and then we’re making it even harder for them to get jobs.”

AMY GOODMAN: The first time our next guest, Jeff Smith, appeared on the national radar, he was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? The year chronicled in the film was 2004. Jeff Smith was a 29-year-old unknown college professor vying for the congressional seat of the retiring Dick Gephardt.

JEFF SMITH: So, this woman who was a friend of my grandma’s, she got the first solicitation letter we sent during the campaign, and she calls my grandma says, "Ida, this is wonderful. Your grandson is running for Congress." And my grandma, who’s 96, said, "No, I don’t think he’s running for Congress. He’s running for the state Legislature." And the woman said, "Ida, I’m looking at the letter right here. He’s running for U.S. Congress." And my grandma said, "Well, if he’s really running for U.S. Congress, you ought to save your money."

JEFF SMITH’S GRANDMOTHER: I don’t think the things that a person with the mind that he has should waste it on politics.

Snip

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/after-spending-year-prison-former-state-senator-condemns-mass-incarceration

[damnedifIknow]

1. Hits home

Mr. Smith would have probably gone through life not thinking much about the issue until....