Hon. Donald E. Shelton was a Circuit Judge in Ann Arbor, MI for 25 years, presiding over felony criminal cases, as well as civil and juvenile matters. He is currently the Director of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program at the University of Michigan (UM), Dearborn. Dr. Shelton received his law degree from UM, his master’s degree from EMU, and his Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno. He has authored several texts and professional articles and is a regular presenter at national conferences on criminal justice and forensic science evidence.

Speaker’s Synopsis: Our prisons are overflowing and the costs in human and monetary terms are enormous. How and why have we sentenced the over 2.2 million adults currently in our prison systems? We discuss how judges decide criminal sentences and how politicians control those sentencing decisions. We discuss the impact of the “War on Drugs”, the fact that more than ½ of all federal prisoners are serving sentences for drug offenses, and the huge proportion of drug-related offenders in our state prisons. Alternative approaches to drug abuse are discussed.

This is the fifth of a six-lecture series. The subject is Faces of Addiction. The next lecture will be May 17. The title is ORIGIN AND TREATMENT OF ADDICTION