From Arkansas Online:
Though there are exceptions, state legislators often agree on more issues than people might think. A prime example: We must do better at addressing crime. Our beloved state has the fourth highest violent crime rate in America, and violent crime remains on the rise.
When a violent crime is committed, most agree that our justice system should have three responses: 1. arrest the offender, 2. incarcerate them for an appropriate length of time, and 3. for the vast majority of offenders who will be released, prepare them to re-enter society so they don't re-offend.
As a state, we are already national leaders in the second response of incarceration. Our incarceration rate is third in the U.S. and substantially higher than any democracy in the world. In a comparison among seven Southern states on assault, robbery, and drug offenses, Arkansas is No. 1 for average time served--not sentence length--for all three. Continue reading >>>
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