1 In Every 99 Americans Now Behind Bars.

[Will E Worm]

Report: 1 In Every 99 Americans Now Behind Bars
U.S. Spent More Than $49 Billion On Corrections In 2007.

Don't ask the U.S. prison system if this is indeed "the land of the free."

For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population.

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

Using updated state-by-state data, the report said 2,319,258 adults were held in U.S. prisons or jails at the start of 2008 -- one out of every 99.1 adults, and more than any other country in the world.

Article

That's way too much money to spend on people in prison.

 

[dave_rhino]

That's awful.

Hilariously awful, but awful nonetheless...

 

[FAH-Q]

how many are actually americans and how many are illegals?

 

[anomaly]

There will be more people in prison and more time being served. Numerous prisons are becoming privatized and that means they must turn a profit. I think the prisoner workforce or chain gangs will be making a strong comeback.

 

[Facial_King]

With private prisons operating based on profit, and having plenty of corporate ties to DC, we can expect laws to be gradually tweaked in such a way that those who are unemployed get shifted into prisons where they can improve the bottom line for a corrections corporation. How charming.

 

[AFA]

The criminals in the White House always seem missed in these polls.

 

[BNF]

That's a terrible ratio.

We've got maybe 1 out of 500 members banned.

 

[buzus]

excuse me,but what exactly is a "private prison"???
and how is it going to make a profit?
could someone please explane that to me?
thanks

 

[004]

That's a terrible ratio.

We've got maybe 1 out of 500 members banned.

Maybe you should become a judge

 

[Torre82]

excuse me,but what exactly is a "private prison"???
and how is it going to make a profit?
could someone please explane that to me?
thanks

The government is paying money to private institutions to house criminals. They then buy extremely.. extremely cheap food and items. Pay their employees little. Keep the profit. It's cheaper.

Yeah. Capitalism. Tell me what's so great about it, sometimes.
::rolls eyes 360 degrees::

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prisons
http://mediafilter.org/MFF/Prison.html

 

[Friday on my mind]

The so-called war on drugs is one of the biggest factors in the extremely high rate of incarceration of US citizens.We need to put an end to laws against whats known as victimless crimes such as this.And those who think this type of high rate is a good thing need to stop thinking they need their taxes cut cause it costs a lot to imprison people.And the private prison thing is just a terrible idea that has already shown many problems.

 

[Quagmire33]

thats crazy

 

[Torre82]

thats crazy

That's America. It doesnt make a whole lot of sense living here. I mean sure you can do whatever you want.. but like the statistics say.. DONT GET CAUGHT! You could do five years for some real bullshit. Hell, you could do 6 months for pretty much anything.. and that just screws over a person's whole life. Makes a person commit more serious crimes when even the law-abiding citizens despise the injustice system.

 

[Peter Gazinya]

Friday is exactly right. Out of control drug laws and mandatory minimums are the number one enemy of our society. Rapists and child molestors spend half the time in prison that a casual cocaine user does. And our prisons are such horrible, understaffed, overcrowded places that all they do is send people out of there that are angrier, even more antisocial and just generally more fucked up than when they got in that they'll be right back in there after getting back into society without a fucking clue how to adjust.

I've done cocaine (and LOVED it by the way). I've never molested anybody.

Thank you Government. Jesus fucking Christ.

 

[Legzman]

Yes our US prisons are terribly over crowded. Most are in for minor drug violations. Again another argument for legalizing pot??? NA, fuck it, just lock everyone up!

 

[YMIHERE]

If you break the law you're in trouble. If everybody breaks the law the law is in trouble.

 

[racerXf1]

This is an embarrassing statistic. This country is going down the toilet.

 

[Joebklyn]

Hey if you break the law you go to prison, simple no. In quite a few other countries they take you out back and shoot you for dealing drugs etc. No ACLU no liberal press etc. DON'T BREAK THE LAW = NO VA LA EL PRISONO. I can't stand liberals, they open their mouths and their brains drop out.

 

[Legzman]

Hey if you break the law you go to prison, simple no.

For the most part I agree. With this statement. Still overcrowding in prison is a major issue in this country. We're to quick to lock up people for bullshit!

 

[bigbadbrody]

wow, you guys should be embarassed