U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations

U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations

www.iht.com

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population. But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners.

Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations.

Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences.

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King's College London.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is something that puzzles me.

In many of these cases, is there really a need to put people in prison and turn them into hardened criminals, in a system where they are more likely to turn to further crime, because they have been put into a criminal "finishing school"?

Or is this just one more example of extreme social control?

www.iht.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

'Land of the free' i think not

jail labor is the new slave labor

It has become an industry. Part and parcel to this "war on drugs".
Where non-violent offenders, receive long sentences.

In Some towns, like Susanville California, it's probably the primary source of employment. There are two large prisons there.

Very little rehab takes place in US prisons.
You're also correct about US prisons being Crime colleges.

reply to post by spacedoubt


Yes rehab is the key to keeping people out of prison in the long term, instead, it looks to me as though convicts are just thrown in jail and left with very few choices when they are released - welfare or crime.

Originally posted by purplemonkey
jail labor is the new slave labor

exactly! when you consider to the employer that they are getting a workforce that cannot ever strike or demand fair pay or employment rights, and can pay them in cents per hour rather than dollars, it makes 3rd world outsourcing look prohibitely expensive in comparison...

...be proud to know that you are buying goods made in good ol' American sweatshops!