Does Keene Need A New Jail?
Last week the Keene Sentinel reported that there is no opposition to the new proposal for a jail site on the Hill property on Route 101 in Keene. Once again the Sentinel has gotten the story wrong. There are many objections not only to the new jail site, but also to the housing and corporate park proposal. Some people have voiced concern over the fact that the site lies on top of a landfill which contains hazardous waste, and others are concerned with the traffic problem the proposed site will bring, but my objection lies in the fundamental concept of building a new jail.
America is supposedly the land of the free, but if one is to take an objective look at the criminal justice system they would get a very different picture. 1 in every 32 American adults is either behind bars, on probation, or on parole. America has more people behind bars than any other country in the world. Communist China, even without constitutionally protected rights and a huge population, comes in second. The US prison population has doubled since 1985. If this trend keeps up, in 50 years 1 in 7 adults will stuck in the system, and the rest of the population will spend most of their time working to build the jails to house them in. There is clearly something fundamentally wrong with this country’s criminal justice system.
Working for change on a national level is a monumental task, but local change is easily obtainable. The proposed jail is estimated to cost over $35 million and will probably go over budget. Keene tax payers will be directly responsible for 26%. If Keene was to invest just a portion of that $9.1 million in criminal justice reform instead of a new jail, thousands of lives would be changed for the better and millions of dollars in taxes would be saved.
The local news outlets and elected officials act as if the only choice is to build a new jail somewhere in Cheshire County, and they could not be further from the truth. The freest country in the world should not imprison more of its citizens than any other country. Clearly reform is needed, and I would encourage everyone to look into both the problems and solutions of the criminal justice system.
