This is an American tragedy.
A new study by the Pew Center has found that 7.32 million American adults were in prison, on parole or on probation in 2007, a tripling over the last 25 years.
Folks, that makes it 1 in every 31 American adults in prison, on parole or on probation. For Blacks, the numbers are a depressing 1 in 11.
If you take the prison and jail population alone, the incarcerated population in America is 2.3 million. That is, 1 in 100 Americans is behind closed doors.
In our view, these are some of the key reasons for the explosive growth of people in prison, on parole or probation in America:
* Growth of the prison-industrial complex or private companies running prisons
*Â Demand from the people for stiff sentencing laws after media reports of horrific crimes
* Harsh sentencing laws like California’s Three-strikes law that leave little leeway for judges
* Racism that causes Blacks to go to prison for long durations for minor crimes
* Lack of spending on rehabilitation programs
* High rate of recidivsm
According to Pew, in the past two decades, state general fund spending on corrections has increased by over 300%, outpacing other essential Continue reading »
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