1 in 32 U.S. Adults Serving Sentences

(AP)  A record 7 million people — or one in every 32 American adults — were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department.

Of those, 2,193,798 were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year.

Even though data show more prison releases, the report said, admissions still exceed releases. More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005.

Men still far outnumber women in prisons and jails, but the female population is growing faster. Over the past year, the population females in state or federal prison increased 2.6 percent while the number of male inmates rose 1.9 percent. By year's end, 7 percent of all inmates were women.

"Today's figures fail to capture incarceration's impact on the thousands of children left behind by mothers in prison," Marc Mauer, the executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington-based group supporting criminal justice reform, said in a statement. "Misguided policies that create harsher sentences for nonviolent drug offenses are disproportionately responsible for the increasing rates of women in prisons and jails."

From 1995 until 2003, inmates in federal prison for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth.

Racial disparities among prisoners persist. In the 25-29 age group, 8.1 percent — about one in every 13 — of black men are incarcerated, compared with 2.6 percent of Hispanic men and 1.1 percent of white men. And it's not much different among women. By the end of 2005, black women were more than twice as likely as Hispanics and over three times as white women to be in prison.

Certain states saw more significant changes in prison population. In South Dakota, the number of inmates increased 11 percent over the past year, more than any other state. Montana and Kentucky were next in line with increases of 10.4 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. Georgia had the biggest decrease, losing 4.6 percent, followed by Maryland with a 2.4 percent decrease and Louisiana with a 2.3 percent drop.

[randalds]

Invest in programs that relieve poverty among children. Invest in Head Start and other pre-school programs. Invest in keeping kids in school. And you won't have to invest in new prison cells for the next generation. It's a whole lot cheaper to spend money on children and keep them on track now then it is to imprison them when they grow up. Democrats should push it because it's socially responsible and even Republicans should be able to see that it makes good business sense. A win-win.

[akarsno]

I blame those who had them in the first place and the goverment is not to blame for the reforms they have in prison.
Give me a choice ... those that have no remose for what they do and land back in prisons time after time, should be wiped out.
Why waste tax payers money on people who are beyond hope.

[akarsno]

Look ... it the people who cannot change and are bad to the core.
In the first place irresponsible parents or people should not have kids if they cannot take care of them or bring tham up properly.
Home education is the basic of a living person and if a child cannot have that than don't bother having children cause this is the out come of society.
Don't blame society for everything.

[catt42701]

Act to change the laws. Indulate your state and federal congress persons with letters. Make you viewpoints be known. If you voted you have a right and responsibility to do that. Posting comments that aren't read by your congress persons or their aids won't do it. Find them at www.firstgov.gov

[olgreyghost]

You can vote out the conservative Republicans, who oppose the decriminalization of recreational drug use because "dopeheads" make bad employees, but replacing them with liberal or moderate Democrats, who continue the laws because it appeals to family-value voters and keeps the prices higher for their drug-dealing friends (yeah, Republicans have friends like this, too), won't necessarily help.

For a real change, folks, look into the Libertarians. CAUTION: Some people freak out excessively when the auto-pilot turns off and control and responsibility for one's life is put back into their hands...

[nynative1340]

You can blame it on the Democrats; you can blame it on the Republicans. But we are basically a "Judeo-Christian" nation. Include the Muslims, who, by the way, worship the same God, and we have a large population with concepts and values held in common.

So, if that is true, why was more than three percent of our population "behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year?"

Are these religious values only practiced at home, in the presence of family? Is politics corrupting religion? Or is religion corrupting politics? Or do we have a contingent of "bad guys" (and gals, too) who have far more influence on our society than religious values.

Just some ideas for thought...

[agnim]

"It is all the White mans fault .
Posted by FARTKNOCKER2 at 12:10 PM : Nov 30, 2006"

LOL

Seems like you can be taught.

[olgreyghost]

Imagine what this means. Most of these people are prohibited from voting. We wouldn't want them campaigning for some of their law-breaking to be decriminalized, would we (sardonic question)?

Many are imprisoned because they choose a different intoxicant than "respectable" people (like Rush). Recreational drug usage is suicide in slow motion but no one has the right to determine their poison is no less dangerous than someone else's and therefore outlaw the other.

Many of these folks have lost the "right to keep and bear arms" so that they can't resist when the agents of government come to take them away. Some most assuredly have abused the right and should be treated with a degree of mistrust in the future but people can change, can't they?

But these are ruthless criminals, right? A few, but imagine what activities you engage in today that tomorrow your neighbors can decide they don't like and then outlaw, subsequently making you an outlaw. "There, but for the grace of God..."

[noomgod]

It's all about the money the gov't gets off of fines and court costs, someones got to pay for the war.

[flautus]

To perceptions5, crawl back in your rathole you neocon moron- you have been exposed as the same old con men. The ELECTORATE is still 85% white. Minorities aren't anybody's base. The democratic party is made up of minorities and whites who want to do the right thing by their fellow human beings. Scratch a republican and you'll find a racist, and/or a corporate greed pig and/or an ignorant redneck (including bible thumpers). Go kick your dog or beat up a gay person.