Here is a little info on it:


Project Exile mandates a 5 year prison sentence without possibility of probation or parole for felons caught in possession of a firearm.


Project Exile mandates a 15 year prison sentence without possibility of probation or parole for felons caught in possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.


The crime rate in Richmond, VA dropped by 55% in less than a year.


The crime rate in Richmond, VA has dropped 65% overall.


There is no question that word of the severe Project Exile penalties has become common knowledge 'on the street'.


HESTON: "...[Project Exile] has been such a spectacular success in Richmond, that I am a little puzzled why the Administration hasn't embraced it..."


HESTON: "...That kind of success was quite startling. I think the Administration just fell behind the curve on it..."


HESTON: "...To say you are tough on crime isn't quite the same as being tough on crime. The President says he's tough on crime, but this Project Exile proves so quickly, and bears fruit so readily, that it kind of startles everybody..."


HESTON: "...Brady was a disaster, Project Exile works..."

So what does it offer to keep people from BECOMING felons? Cause it sounds like it only applies to those who have already become convicted of a crime.....

What should we offer people to keep them from going bad, nates daisy? It's true that sweeping social changes need to be made in this country if we hope to reduce crime to some acceptable level, but Project Exile does put teeth in existing laws. It is an incentive to the felons to know that they can't use a slick lawyer or a permissive court to put them back on the streets. If you do the crime, you will do the time if convicted.

Many criminals start off with lesser crimes, and escalate as time goes on. If someone already has a felony conviction, and has learned nothing from punishment, it only makes sense to increase penalties until they get the message, or never get another chance.

Rethink some of the counterproductive anti-drug strategies that currently reward violent gang competition with a lucrative market, which leads to a cycle of violence in order to maintain market share.

Address lack of economic opportunity in inner cities.

Have inner-city schools focus on education instead of whatever many of them seem to focus on now. Try to attract good teachers. Instill a sense of pride in the students. Make high academic achievement "cool" rather than something to be jeered at.

Access to mental health care and health care in general.

Socialize kids into adult roles better, particularly in the inner cities. Perhaps addressing family breakdown is part of this?

Etc.


What NOT to do: Have politicians go barging into the gun safes of the LAW-ABIDING and dictating what guns they'll "allow" us to keep and which ones they deem "unsuitable" for mere peons to own...

I should have mentioned--the NRA lobbied heavily for Project Exile and was a major force behind its being adopted on a more national scale.

http://www.nraila.org/media/misc/prevention.aspx

I guess my question should have been, does this law apply to FIRST time offenders or just those who are already felons?

And does it apply to felons who's rights have been restored to them after doing their time?


Just curious.

I think that we would also need to address the currently more false image of "cool". Ganster rap glorifies violence and drug use. Additionally, to be a good student in an inner city area is to "act white" and be rejected by those you live amoungst.

As for attracting good teachers, I think that is a good plan for every school. But the increased chance of violence, unsafe neighborhoods, and heartbreak of teaching in such a setting drives many teachers with families away from the neighborhoods they serve or out all together to a safer area.

And as for a 'real' education, the ideals behind NCLB is to hold schools accountable for the success of their students. Unfortunately for many students, this means an emphasis on core curriculum with little room for creative arts courses, vocational education that puts them into a competetive job right out of high school, and physical education to release stress. We desperately need machinists, welders, and other highly paid technical workers. But we are so busy teaching to a test, that the true outcomes have become lost in the statistics as districts scramble to hold on to ever shrinking funds.

Here's some basic information...
Project Exile

That's sort of what I was thinking. Even in non-minority communities, good students are often regarded as "geeks," but in some minority communities I know that there can be an additional stigma, which is really frustrating. I wish we could get it through kids' heads, especially minority kids, that education is POWER, so that statement really means that that obtaining the power to be self-sufficient rather than dependent is "acting white." Which is utterly self-degrading to a person of color, since that's exactly what white racists would want the minority student to think!


Very good point. I know *I* wouldn't want to live in an inner city; I couldn't afford to live in non-subsidized housing, for one. And our family wouldn't even be welcome in many cities due to our gun collection (which would be illegal in, say, D.C. or NYC or Chicago).


Too true.