Category:Criminal Justice
Till Meth Do Us Part – Drug War Stories (Ep. 3) with Alex Kreit
September 11, 2014 | Video
Sharing is caring. But not with drugs. If you’re caught sharing drugs with your friends, family, spouse or whatever, the police have you on distribution. So before you puff-puff- pass, listen to Professor Alex Kreit as he exposes some of the wildest drug loopholes that are already putting people behind bars.
When Bong Water Really Stinks – Drug War Stories (Ep. 2) with Alex Kreit
September 11, 2014 | Video
Don’t spill the bong water; especially if it’s filled with methamphetamine. Right now cops can use the weight of bong water when attempting to sentence drug users. Discover your rights, or lack thereof, with Professor Alex Kreit, as he exposes America’s strangest drug loophole.
If You Give A Cop Some Coke – Drug War Stories (Ep. 1) with Alex Kreit
September 11, 2014 | Video
Everyone knows the dangers of buying drugs. But did you know there’s a way to buy drugs and have cops actually thank you for it? In an in-depth analysis of the United States’ current drug laws and all of its weird rules, loony litigation and strange loopholes, Professor Alex Kreit takes you behind the scenes […]
Don’t Be A Victim | The Drug War and You
July 8, 2014 | Video
Did you know having “too much” cash on you can be used to prove possession of drugs? Or that being present at a drug deal can lead to life in prison under mandatory minimum sentencing laws? Hey, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the harsh policies that can put you at risk, even […]
4 Reasons to be Optimistic About Mandatory Minimums
July 1, 2014 | Video
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have sentenced people to jail for decades, sometimes for doing something as simple as selling pot a few times. Is there any reason to be hopeful that things could change? Alex Kreit, professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, tells of four recent contributions to the reform of mandatory-minimum drug […]
3 Things You NEED To Know About Mandatory Prison Sentencing
June 26, 2014 | Video
Our three most recent presidents have admitted to committing drug offenses in their youth, though they didn’t pay for their indiscretions with jail time. But most people caught up in our criminal justice system aren’t so lucky. Perhaps the worst aspect of the flawed system is mandatory minimum sentences. Consider Weldon Angelos, one victim — […]
You Won’t Believe Why These 3 People Were Sentenced to Life
June 24, 2014 | Video
A single mother addicted to drugs. A man so desperate to pay for medical treatment that he tried unsuccessfully to sell methamphetamines. A guy busted for selling LSD and another who got in trouble for selling marijuana. One thing all four of these victims of the drug war have in common is that they’ve been […]
The Relationship Between Commerce and Crime | Off the Clock Economist Explores
April 1, 2014 | Video
Professor Daniel D’Amico interviews a New Orleans business owner about crime in the city after Hurricane Katrina. They observe that local businesses can play an important role in reducing crime and increasing the safety of communities. Entrepreneurs and businesses create more connections between people, offer support and economic opportunities, and provide what urbanist Jane Jacobs […]
How to Make a Criminal Cocktail | Off the Clock Economist Explores
March 13, 2014 | Video
With a social-capital-inducing King Cake in tow, Off the Clock Economist Dan D’Amico heads out to a backyard bar. Discover how to make a New Orleans Sazerac, which many say was the very first cocktail ever invented. Why? Keep watching to learn how the criminalization of alcohol in the United States forever changed the way […]
3 Absurd Reasons for Banning Drugs
January 9, 2014 | Video
Did you know the war on drugs is founded on racist principles? Prof. Stephen Davies shows the historical thought process behind banning drugs. One of the main reasons drugs were banned initially is because people were concerned drug use would lead to interracial relationships. Can you imagine someone making that argument today? Yet it was […]
Why Are Illegal Drugs Stronger Than They Used to Be?
November 5, 2013 | Video
Is it possible the war on drugs is to blame for increased potency in marijuana and for how crack ravaged inner cities in the 1980s? Prof. Adam Martin explains how the drug war has altered incentives for both drug buyers and sellers, leading them to favor higher potency drugs. This is what economists call the […]
Why Are So Many Violent Criminals Walking Free?
September 28, 2013 | Video
In 2011, fewer than half of all violent crimes found any resolution. An alarming 59 percent of rape cases and 36.2 percent of murders in the United States are never solved. Why are so many violent criminals walking free? Prof. Alex Kreit suggests that perhaps U.S. police forces have their priorities out of order. We […]
Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System
January 14, 2013 | Video
Fewer than half of 1 percent of Americans are in state and federal prisons. That sounds like a small number. But when the U.S. prison population is examined by race, we find that the effects of the criminal justice system in the United States are unequally distributed in society. While whites make up 64 percent […]
Why Is the U.S. Prison Population So Large?
January 7, 2013 | Video
The United States houses more human beings in prisons than any other country, both in terms of actual numbers and in relation to population size. The U.S. prison population began to grow dramatically in the 1970s. Professor Daniel D’Amico examines the data behind the alarming increase in the number of prisoners in the United States […]
US Prison Population: The Largest in the World
August 21, 2012 | Video
The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world—more even than China or Russia. In fact, more people are in prisons in the United States than in all other developed countries combined. Professor Daniel J. D’Amico explains that as of 2010 over 1.6 million people were serving jail sentences in America. […]
What You Should Know About Drug Prohibition
March 9, 2012 | Video
In its history, America has experienced two major periods of drug prohibition. This first was the Federal alcohol prohibition from 1920-1933. The second is the current war on drugs, which began in 1971. According to Prof. Angela Dills, during these periods of prohibition in America, both homicide rates and police enforcement costs increased. This makes […]
3 Absurd Reasons for Banning Drugs
September 20, 2011 | Video
Dr. Stephen Davies discusses what he feels are the three most strange and bizarre reasons for banning drugs. The first of these reasons for prohibiting drugs was to stop respectable white girls from using drugs and reproducing with men of other races. This argument was used in the United States in the 1890s to ban […]
Justice and Private Property
February 22, 2011 | Video
From the IHS Vault: Philosophy professor Chris Freiman discusses the concept of private property, addressing both its critics and its advocates, and how it relates to justice.