Justice Toal calls sentencing in USA a national disgrace

According to Knight Ridder:

"Sentencing in the United States is a national disgrace," Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal said Wednesday in her annual speech to the S.C. General Assembly.

The state's corrections director, lawmakers and others greeted the proposal favorably, though they offered different solutions.

From 1970 through 2000, the nation's prison population increased six-fold, Toal said. "This is a huge drain on state and local resources."

Toal held up North Carolina as a model for sentencing reform. In that state, she said, violent criminals receive longer sentences and non-violent offenders are serving shorter time