Last year, after an intense campaign funded exclusively by California billionaire Henry Nicholas, North Dakota voters approved a sprawling amendment to the state constitution called Marsy’s Law. It was billed as a “victim’s rights” bill, but critics (me among them) pointed out that the feel-good legislation would be hugely problematic in practice. “The North Dakota…
‘Build More Jails’ Is Not a Sustainable Solution to the Drug Addiction Problem
There is a significant debate in North Dakota right now circling around prison overcrowding and how we treat drug abuse in the criminal justice system. Some including Leann Bertsch, director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections, want put more emphasis on addiction treatment instead of incarceration. Others, unfortunately, seem to like the status quo.…