Should All Prisoners Be Released Except Those Who Committed Violent Crimes?

Debtors Prison was an institution used by the ruling class in Europe to punish people who could not pay their debts. Living under an oppressive system of high taxes and fines, of course the jails became overcrowded with debtors who could not pay. Many were given the opportunity to work off their debts as "indentured servants," temporary slaves who worked until the debt was paid off. Most were languishing in Europe's overcrowded jails until they were given an opportunity for release. The catch: they had to leave the continent and go and settle what Europeans called "the new world" - America. Many came to America, and the rest is history. But, what happened is that the descendants of those earlier prisoners have recreated the same system in present day America. Many of those incarcerated are serving time simply because they didn't have money. Sometimes people are jailed for unpaid parking tickets causing, unknown to them, a suspended license. Often the "crime" was the sale or use of marijuana (a substance which is now sold legally) and they couldn't pay bail or couldn't pay a good lawyer. Our jails are overcrowded, and prison is just a thinly disguised slave labor business. It's time to stop it. Only violent criminals need to be locked away to protect society while they undergo rehabilitation. Should all other non violent prisoners be released, provided the opportunities to become productive citizens, and honorably pay any debts owed