Recent Posts
New York Drug-law Reforms, Drop in Crime Reduce Prison Population
The residents of the legendary Big House that is Sing Sing could not be blamed if 11 years ago they didn’t feel the old prison lived up to its nickname.
With nearly 2,300 inmates housed at the maximum-security prison in Ossining, it was a little closer to a cramped house.
But that’s not the case now.
R&B Singer Monica Expecting 3rd Child
One of my favorite singers of all time and best friend in my head Monica is pregnant with her 3rd child by Basketball-Star Hubby Shannon Brown!
The beautiful couple has 3 kids between them, Monica’s two boys from rapper Rocko and Shannon’s son from a previous relationship.
Hopefully this one is a girl!
Either way congrats to the beautiful couple!!!!
-ByAyanaEllis
The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish
The United States puts more people behind bars than any other country, five times as many per capita compared with Britain or Spain.
It wasn’t always like this. Half a century ago, relatively few people were locked up, and those inmates generally served short sentences. But 40 years ago, New York passed strict sentencing guidelines known as the “Rockefeller drug laws” — after their champion, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller — that put even low-level criminals behind bars for decades.
Those tough-on-crime policies became the new normal across the country. But a new debate is under way over the effectiveness of tough sentencing laws.
Drug Laws and Drug Crimes
From drug possession to drug trafficking, a look at laws regulating controlled substances.
Drug laws and drug crimes have gotten lots of attention in the past decade. Laws in every state and at the federal level prohibit the possession, manufacture, and sale of certain controlled substances — including drugs like marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin.
States Rethink Drug Laws
A growing number of states are renouncing some of the long prison sentences that have been a hallmark of the war on drugs and instead focusing on treatment, which once-skeptical lawmakers now say is proven to be less expensive and more effective.
Kentucky on Thursday became the latest to make the shift when Gov. Steve Beshear signed into law a measure increasing spending on rehabilitation programs and intensive drug testing. The law also reduces penalties for many drug offenses and may allow some traffickers and users of smaller amounts of drugs to avoid prison.
Internet sales tax: What you’ll pay, and when
(CNN) – Internet shoppers could be one step closer to having to pay sales taxes on online purchases.
In a vote on Monday, the U.S. Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which will require all online retailers to collect sales taxes for the states where they ship goods.
The legislation still needs to pass the Republican-controlled House before it can become a law. White House spokesman Jay Carney has said that President Obama supports the bill.
