Which laws are extremely enforceable?
What culture is that?
From the public defender for Cook County:
"A war on guns that focuses solely on punishment sounds like an easy fix, but it will fail just as did the war on drugs. Increasing prison terms while failing to address the causes of gun violence will serve only to, once again, demonize and incarcerate another generation of mostly young African-American and Latino men. An old adage states that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Following the same failed path will have the same failed results.
In Illinois, killing someone with a firearm carries a minimum 45 years in prison, with no possible early release. A 20-year-old convicted of shooting someone to death will see freedom, at the earliest, when he is 65. This minimum 45-year punishment has been in effect since 2000. Did it prevent 90 people from being killed in August? Did it stop the nearly 500 homicides so far this year?
Possession of a firearm by a felon carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. Depending on the felon's criminal background, the penalty after conviction can increase to either 14 or 30 years in prison. Have these prison terms prevented the nearly 3,000 shootings in Chicago this year?
Some suggest that mandatory prison terms are needed in order to strip judges of discretion at sentencing. But locking up everyone without consideration of his or her background or the facts of each case is fundamentally unfair. Discretion is necessary, since every person is different, as are the facts underlying every charged offense. Serving time in prison, in fact, often exacerbates the problem. Instead of rehabilitating, it often hardens individuals and sets them further back when they re-enter society.
Despite the inflammatory rhetoric, no one grows up wanting to shoot or kill. People from distressed communities have often endured horrific trauma in their lives, and make bad choices. Increasing minimum sentences will not stop violence; it will merely incarcerate one generation while another generation steps up and continues the violence.
Punishment occurs after the fact, after the violence has happened. The solution that all parties should be seeking is how to reduce or prevent the violence from ever occurring.
Gun violence stems from inadequate education, lack of economic opportunity, an unstable home environment, mental health problems, untreated anger, segregation, lack of recreational outlets and poverty. It affects families, friends and communities.
A culture where there is no hope for employment and family is self-destructive. We see the results on the street every day. Advocating only punishment for those who see no hope will solve nothing. We need to collaborate and help our youth gain vision and hope, not pigeonhole entire classes or generations of people to prison.
I ask only that we see everyone at risk as someone deserving of dignity, to give him or her a chance before the violent act is taken, before the gun is picked up. We will not stop violence by launching a punitive war on guns and locking up another generation of young men; we will stop it through thoughtful action, assistance and recognition that something better can be achieved.
Amy P. Campanelli is the public defender for Cook County.
A 'war on guns' won't stop Chicago's violence - Chicago Tribune
