War On Crime

Political Fictions Revealed, #5

Crime has changed little over the centuries. What has changed in America beginning in the 1980s is the “Definition of Crime”.  Historically, a crime requires at least two individuals (a perpetrator and a victim) and the intent of one party to harm the other party or the other party’s property. No more. Now, you can be both perpetrator and victim of a crime against yourself and go to prison for a mandatory minimum number of years. Crime has become big money with for-profit prisions traded on the New York Stock Exchange and “heads on beds” being the metric by which share price is determined. As a launching pad for a political career, prosecutors literally manufacturer crime using Mandatory Minimum Sentencing indictments to gain statistics needed to build political resumes. Crime in America is a business pure and simple.