1 in 32 Americans in jails, on parole

[Jcrowley]

1 in 32 Americans in jails, on parole
By KASIE HUNT
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A record 7 million people - or one in every 32 American adults - were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday.

More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005. Prison releases are increasing, but admissions are increasing more.

Men still far outnumber women in prisons and jails, but the female population is growing faster. Over the past year, the female population in state or federal prison increased 2.6 percent while the number of male inmates rose 1.9 percent. By year's end, 7 percent of all inmates were women. The gender figures do not include inmates in local jails.

"Today's figures fail to capture incarceration's impact on the thousands of children left behind by mothers in prison," Marc Mauer, the executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington-based group supporting criminal justice reform, said in a statement. "Misguided policies that create harsher sentences for nonviolent drug offenses are disproportionately responsible for the increasing rates of women in prisons and jails."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PRISON_POPULATION?SITE=CAVEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Kiouni]

1. when the number is that high

you have to wonder if all these people did something that was truly criminal.

[karlrschneider]

2. There are people in prison serving more time for marijuana possession

than some others for murder. I don't have a link handy but I know it's true.

[Ms. Clio]

3. the "War on Drugs" = a war on poor, non-white Americans

More from the article:

"From 1995 to 2003, inmates in federal prison for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth."

[Porcupine]

4. And when they get out they can't get good jobs.....

so that means that you get to pay for their health care and their retirement their kids college.......

Isn't ameriKa great?

[Warren Stupidity]

5. Legalize it.

It is way past time to stop the bullshit. Prison should be restricted to violent offenders who are a physical danger to society. Drugs are a social, not a criminal problem. It is time to stop the bullshit.

[MazeRat7]

6. Its all about $$$, justice be damned. (n/t)

[OneBlueSky]

7. guess Halliburton is building those new camps for the overflow? . . .

or is it something more sinister? . . .

[TahitiNut]

8. More non-voting cheap labor for the kleptocracy.

:puke: