August 31, 2011
^Jortla nb (Ob semer
Page 9
Getting on the Right Side of the Issue
Lock ’em up
attitude gives
way to prison
reform
the key” attitude did little to stop
crime but did firmly cement the U.S.
as the industrialized nation that in­
carcerates the most people.
Now, with state and federal bud­
gets stretched to their limits and
law m ak ers d e cid in g
whether or not to raise
by J udge G reg M athis
taxes or risk of running
For years, America’s
out of money, conserva­
political leaders - many of
tive political groups are
whom were conservative
seemingly reversing di­
Republicans - thought
rection on how they ap­
that the best way to lower
proach the criminal jus­
crime and keep the public safe was tice system.
to pass harsh sentencing laws that
Historically, liberals have long
locked away even the lowest level advocated the use of alternative
non-violent drug offenders for sentencing methods but now Re­
years.
publicans have joined the band­
his “lock 'em up and throw away wagon.
T hey’re not changing course
because they’ve seen the light and
realize offender rehabilitation is criti­
cal. Rather, they’re exploring ‘softer’
approaches to ju stice because
they’re worried about the increas­
ingly high costs of running prisons.
Some of the programs spear­
headed in Republican states look
promising and could possibly serve
as national models. A recent New
York Times article discussed a Texas
law that now sends non-violent of­
fenders into drug treatment instead
o f prison. The state has also
strengthened its programs that help
keep ex-offenders from returning to
prison.
Because of this new approach,
the Texas prison is spending far less
than it did in the past, state taxpay­
ers have saved hundreds of millions
of dollars and violent crime in the
state is at the lowest it has been in
30 years.
Texas isn't the only conserva­
tive state in the nation trying this
new approach; South Carolina, Ohio
and Arkansas are also reforming
theirjustice systems, all in the name
of saving money. Notable Republi­
can leaders, including former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich; Edwin
Meese, attorney general during the
Reagan administration, and Asa
Hutchinson, former director of the
Drug Enforcement Administration,
are all leading the ‘conservative
prison reform movement’.
Sometimes people or groups get
on the right side of an issue much
later than one would like. But con­
servatives finally understand that
investing in rehabilitation is a much
sm arter way to spend taxpayer
money.
Focusing on drug treatment, psy­
chological counseling education
and job training and not just impris­
onment doesn’t just save money —
it keeps communities safer.
It’s unfortunate that it took an
economic crisis for Republicans to
get to this point. But they’re here
now ...here's hoping the reform
keeps moving in the right direction.
Greg Mathis is a fa n n er Michi­
gan District Court judge and cur­
rently is a judge on syndicated tele­
vision.
Fraternity Brothers Made King Memorial a Reality
Effort was 27 years in the making
by M arc H. M orial
“ We b u ild th is
m e m o r ia l
because...when our
nation was about to
split in two - black
versus white, rich
versus p o o r — Dr.
King said we should live together
as brothers or perish as fools. ” -
Harry E. Johnson, president and
chief executive officer, the Wash
mgton, D.C. Martin Luther King,
Jr. N ational M em orial Project
Foundation.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Me-
morial is the first on the National
Mall in Washington, D.C. to honor
a person of color, a non-president
and a man of peace.
More than a quarter century in
the making and at a cost of $120
million, the Memorial promises to
rekindle global interest in the life
and legacy of one of the greatest
champions of civil and human rights
the world has ever known.
In these times of rampant do­
mestic and international turmoil and
division. Dr. King’s messageofjus-
tice, democracy, hope and love is
needed more than ever.
The MLK Memorial project was
the brainchild of Alpha Phi Alpha,
the world’s oldest intercollegiate
fraternity founded by African Ameri­
can men. Fraternity leaders con­
ceived the idea in 1984, 16 years
after Dr. King’s death and only
m onths after President Reagan
signed the Martin Luther King Jr.
Holiday into law.
Dr. King himself was amemberof
Alpha Phi Alpha as were National
Urban League legends Lester
G ranger and W hitney M.
Young,Jr., w how erealsocol-
leagues and friends of Dr.
King. I too am a proud Alpha
Phi Alpha Brother.
Since 2002, the massive fund-
raising effort needed to bring the
MLK Memorial project to fruition, has
been led by former Alpha Phi Alpha
President and Houston lawyer, Harry E.
__________________
Johnson, , __
Sr. Under
Johnson’s leader-
ship, the Washington, DCMartin Luther
King, Jr. National Memorial Project
Foundation has raised more than $114
million from scores of corporate donors
and thousands of citizens who want to
ensure that Dr. King’s legacy endures,
Harry Johnson was just eight
years old when Dr. Kingledthe 1963
March on Washington where he
delivered one of the most well-
known speeches in American his-
tory. He says that he owes much of
his success as a lawyer and activist
to the inspiration of Dr. King and the
changes he brought about through
non-violent action.
Johnson is a graduate o f Xavier
U niversity in New Orleans and
received his law degree from Texas
Southern U niversity’s Thurgood
M arshall School o f Law. He
served as President o f Alpha Phi
Alpha from 2001 -2004, and for his
leadership o f the King Memorial
project, was awarded the presti-
gious “ P re sid e n t’s A w ard ” at
January’s Trum pet Awards Gala
in Atlanta.
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Carved out of a granite boulder
and situated on the Tidal Basin in a
direct line between the Jefferson
and Lincoln Memorials, the MLK
Memorial will be a fitting tribute to
Dr. King,
According to Harry Johnson,
“Drawing from Dr. King’s speeches
Avalon Flowers
Cori Stewart—
and using his own rich language, and Johnson for their leadership of
the King Memorial will be a public this important project and urge all
sanctuary where future generations Americans to visit this historic new
of Americans, regardless of race, addition to the National Mall.
religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexual
Marc H. M orial is president and
orientation can come to honor Dr. chief executive officer o f the Na­
King.”
tional Urban League.
We applaud Alpha Phi Alpha
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