We put too many people in prison, too readily

This article from The Economist describes how we've progressively warped the justice system by tying judge's hands and forcing long sentences. It's time to roll things back. Read some of the examples in this article and think about how a simpler penal code would benefit society. We're not helping things by ensuring that everyone is in violation of some law or other: we're just putting corrupting power in the hands of police and prosecutors.