U.S. Has Less Than 5% of World Population But Almost 1/4 Of World's Prisoners

Prison has become a Ph.D. program that turns relatively harmless "criminals" into hardcore criminals.

 

I think public humiliation should be the most common punishment for non-violent criminals. If society can't handle tarring-and-feathering, we should at least make heavy use of the "purse-snatcher" sandwich boards.

 

- These stats are about prison, not jail.

- Aren't most drug sentences due to drug traficking, rather than simply smoking up?

- Also- "it is the length of sentences that truly distinguishes American prison policy. Indeed, the mere number of sentences imposed here would not place the United States at the top of the incarceration lists"

 

Man it sucks that the judge made that dude go out in public with that mullet. Talk about a harsh sentence....

 

You said "it's not like we're locking up people for smoking weed." That statement is absolutely false.

According to the Justice Department, 27.9% of the people in state prisons for drug offenses are there for simple possession. That means (based on the half million drug prisoners in state prisons) that nearly 140,000 people are in prison for simple possession. So, "most drug sentences" are due to trafficking (69.7% according to JD), but that still leaves a huge number of people in prison for simple possession and these numbers omit local jails.

Before the Harrison Narcotics Act (the one that made drugs illegal) passed in 1914, it was estimated that 1.3% of our population was addicted to drugs. When Nixon coined the term "War on Drugs," it was estimated that 1.3% of our population was addicted to drugs. Since then, at the cost of over a trillion dollars, we have quadrupled our prisoner population and today it is estimated that 1.3% of our population is addicted to drugs.

We will not incarcerate our way out of this problem, we need to come up with a reasonable, intelligent way to deal with the issue of drug use and abuse in this country. The exploding prisoner population is a direct unintended consequence of the "War on Drugs."

 

I was surprised to read this part. I am a layman on this topic and do not have any number to question it.

I do not feel much difference of the crime rates between China and US and the law in China is a lot tougher towards criminals. In the US, you probably do not see a corrupt goverment employee sentenced to 15 years in prison or a 22 year old young man sentenced to 5 years in prison for taking money from a malfunctional ATM. So I would guess more prisoners in China than in the US.

Maybe the domestic violent prisoners make the difference? In china, if a wife gets beat up the by husband, she is more willing to find othe ways to punish her husband(like calling her brother to beat him up) than send him to prison in the US?

BTW, political activists contribute very,very small part of total numbers in concerned.

 

I think we need a War on Education in this country. If it works as well as the Wars on Poverty, Drugs, and Terror, we'll be in great shape.

 

While you're at it, let's start with a War on War.

 

Why are you so sure this is not a right number? Have you ever been in China or what? Talking about american being judgemental!

 

The US number of prisoners should be higher, considering those thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands people who are secretly locked up by the CIA, Homeland Security agencies.

 

I'm sure there are quicker and cheaper ways to punish small time crooks. We just need to get flogging declared neither cruel nor unusual. Multiply normal prison sentances in months by 10 and that gives you the number of lashes.

 

Mandatory sentances for drug crimes
---Yes the minority are in for "using" but the law determines intent most of the time simply by how much the person has.


Mentally Ill- reduction is taking care of these people has increased the number of people in jail.

 

I am Hispanic, and I'll bet you've never visited a Mexican prison except in a movie. They have no idea how many prisoners they have and really don't care. Most poor nations are worse. America keeps records of everything and everybody.

 

. . or in some case . . .really don't care

Rocket River

 

Honestly
America excels at CREATING a criminal

Under-educate someone
create an economic system that keeps adults working several jobs
endorse a lavish livestyle and low morality and win at all cost mentality
nab them early on nickle and dime crimes
--- which puts them in the system .. where if you not a violent criminal. . you will become one. . . .



Rocket River

 

Yep, no one is truly responsible for their own actions.

 

Well, if you learned something about game theory, then you will know that the environment (ie rules, customs, culture etc) shapes one's decision process.

I personally don't believe in free will because there is no proper way to define it.

 

Very well said. Unfortunately, culture is very hard to change...

 

Well one of the top ways in which we create criminals is what we do with poor kids after school and before their parent(s) come home.

Those of us who have decent incomes put our kids in paid daycare or after-school programs. If you don't have the money they go home to the apt complex to hangout with other kids and get into trouble get pregnant and do drugs.

I guess a typical person spouting conservative bumper sticker talk would just say they didn't exercise personal responsibility so f*** em.

A friend lived in Germany and they kept all the kids in after school programs till the parents were off work. We could do that too, but it might lead to a higher capital gains tax on stock speculation, and we can't have that.

 

f**k it. That only means the US is a safe country. The US is also a rich country that can afford to build more prisons and put more criminals in prisons. It's a good thing.

The poor countries dont have money to build prisons. So, the poor countries just let criminals walking on the street. Dont you see terrorists roam free in Iraq. The US is going to build prisons there too, everywhere in the world. The US is making the world safer, you bet.