1 in 104 adults in America is in prison.
1 in 14 dollars spent by states goes to prisons, totaling $52 billion per year.
1 in 2.3 people (43%) released from prison go back there within 3 years of their release.
Those shocking numbers come from a new infographic at the Pew Center on the States.
They tell a sobering story: we lock up more people than anyone else in the world, and despite enjoying some of the lowest crime rates in history right now, a huge number of people are still going back to prison.
So, let's do the math: enormous prison population, jaw-dropping costs (we spend more on prisons than we do on hospitals), yet little net gain of public safety. Does this make any sense?
Read the full Pew report on the increase in sentence length and prison costs here, and leave a comment to tell us what you think about this madness.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Pay More, Get Less
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2 Comments:
The problem is that once a person gets out of prison they have a hard time getting a rental and also a job. What about equal rights for ex-felons? If we want to keep them from going back we must support them when they are out.. Let them work!!!
and there's so much more - probation or parole being a very slippery slope leading right back through the prison doors. One little boo-boo is all it takes, even in some cases if it's someone else's boo-boo (a roommate or driver, for example)
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