1 in 32 U.S. Adults Serving Sentences

Justice Department Report Finds A Record 7 Million In Prison, Probation Or Parole

(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.

[toshi43]

Keep up the good work - at the rate you're going, it won't be long before the entire population's behind bars. That's sure to have a serious impact on the crime rate.

And the point of this story is what?

[whatithink-2009]

The solution comes in being tough on prevention (parenting skills, better schools, better job opportunities, hope, etc.). The solution doesn't come in being tough on crime and the War on Drugs is doing nothing but putting a lot of low level expendible people behind bars. It has not solved the problem. You can't solve a drug problem on the supply side.

[allgood34]

Crime is going up because people have less control over there kids. People have less control because the government keeps taking away parents ability to disipline there kids. Sometimes kids just need a good spanking and not just a talking to which they can ignore. Of course today if a parent spanks there kids it's considered child abuse. Discipline child early and often (when needed and without crossing the line into abuse) and most will grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong. Let them get away with any and everything growing up and... well you see the numbers above.

Too bad we can;t do this with our kids http://content3.i-am-bored.com/games/68138_kidstoned.wmv

[bluestardad]

Justice is a racket. There is NO justice in the Legal system! The Legal System is a living entity that needs society to feed upon to sustain itself. Why else can a person purchase themselves out of offenses? When it comes to Justice it is JUST US!

[cathaleen]

Allgood:

You are so right. Parents have no rights anymore.
Any teenager can tell you their rights - they don't have to go to school, parents can't put them in a special program or rehab if they don't want to go, if you slap them they tell the school officials and the parents go to jail.
So when these kids are 18, they have no fear and no education, thanks to the crazy liberals.

[antoniof123]

Left out one thing most of the drug charges are the use of pot about 70% and under 20 grams so what are we saying. A person who smokes grass and spends what $100 dollars goes to jail or on probation and then we the tax payers get to pay around $70,000 a year to make sure he doesn't do it again. I think I would rather get the tax from the sell of pot for paying down the national debt. Please give me a break on the war on drugs it is just another way for our leaders to get there pockets greased by someone else. Mass fear haven't we had enough of that and haven't we learned that it just doesn't work. Please don't say that it leads to harder drugs. Maybe we should just make it all legal and stop trying to keep it out of peoples hands. Then the government could tax it and we would not be paying as much in other taxes. The crimes happen and people get killed because they have to sneak around doing something wrong. Let's stop worrying about things we can't stop then maybe we can fix things that need to be fix.

[whatithink-2009]

The prison system is a way to keep down the unemployment rate...both with the prisoners and the prison guards.

[rochest]

Antoniof123
Yes yes yes you are so right let's hope some politicians have the guts to begin working on legislation for this rational approach ...pot may be a gateway drug for some like beer is to hard liquor but for most it ends there.... so why should I be a criminal in the eyes of the community or because of the drug teachings in school a criminal in the eyes of my children? And what about medical marijuana?

[perception5]

Well we can thank primarily two groups for this.
The first group is the our liberal Democrats and the second group is our corrupt liberal MSM wolfpack.
In Baltimore City today less than 50% of children ever graduate from High School and there is a 72% drop out rate by black male children.
Baltimore has been controlled 100% by Democrats for years, decades, and generations as millions of poor black children has been ignored by this monopoly, except to have them come out every two years and vote of the candidate with the "D" behind their name.
What is/has been happening in Baltimore is the same across America in every been city.
A city government dominated by Democrats and their enablers our corrupt MSM press. In Baltimore it's the Baltimore Sun newspaper that protects their pals, the Dems.
What we have here is a type of "big city plantation" where black Americans are promised the world and delivery never happens.
This situation is the "greatest crime NEVER reported by our liberal MSM wolfpack.
Because black children are not being educated in these "big city plantations" the cycle of crime, drugs, and unbelievable dropout rates continue.
Black Americans make up the "base" of the Democratic party. It's time that the Dems and their pals in the liberal MSM reach out and stop this endless cylce.......... you guys have the reins and power ............. now help your base!

[olebd]

Replace most of these 7 million petty prisoners with the estimated 10 million illegal immigrants as they pose a greater overall financial threat to the general American public in the long run.

[olebd]

Just be sure to filter them back to their own country in a reasonable time period.

[agnim]

America -- the most crime-ridden society on the planet.

One of our produce is criminality.

The so-called 'land of the free' is THE MOST UN-FREE nation on the planet, due to the fact that such a huge percentage of our population is in the prison system, which doubles as the US' 21st Century slavery system for Black people.

[random_radar]

Most people get sent to prison for so-called drug crimes. This is a case of the cure being worse than the disease. I won't bother asking if people really think prison is a good approach to drug addiction because obviously the anwer is yes. If everyone could spend a year in prison, I hope they would change their minds, but probably they would still say yes. Why does our society inflict such hateful suffering on drug users? We are barbarians.

[sharncedar]

Are we willing to admit yet that we are a police state? 8% of balck males are in prison - I guess the Nazi corporations in charge of our nation have found a "final solution" to civil injustice.

Who can deny that this is a police state but a fool.

They divide and conquer; like their forbears the Nazis, they divide the population against themselves by false concepts like race and class. When the corporate government tells a white schoolkid in Alabama she can't pray in school, and when the corporate government shoots 50 rounds into an unarmed black man in NY, its the same action by the same government.

When we realize that then there is a little bit of hope for us.

[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.

[noomgod]

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

[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..."

[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.

[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...

[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...

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.