Friday
May282004
Report: 1 of Every 75 U.S. Men in Prison
Friday, May 28, 2004 at 03:57AM
America's inmate population grew by 2.9 percent last year, to almost 2.1 million people, with one of
every 75 men living in prison or jail. The inmate population continued its
rise despite a fall in the crime rate and many states'efforts
to reduce some sentences, especially for low-level drug offenders. [more]
Abuse of prisoners is not an exception; it's an American tradition
When President Bush announced in his speech Monday night that the U.S.intends to demolish Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison and pay to build a new maximum security facility in Baghdad, I thought,now,there's something that the United States really knows how to do.We know how to build prisons. And no wonder. The U.S. has more of its citizens behind bars than any other country. Of the estimated 9 million people incarcerated worldwide, more than 2 million are locked up right here at home, and a majority of them are people of color and poor people. [more]
- Nearly one in three (32.2%) African American males in the age group of 20-29 (829,440) is under criminal justice supervision on any given day in prison or jail, on probation or parole.
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Hispanic men are almost four times as likley to go to prison at some point in their lives as non-Hispanic white males. [more]
When President Bush announced in his speech Monday night that the U.S.intends to demolish Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison and pay to build a new maximum security facility in Baghdad, I thought,now,there's something that the United States really knows how to do.We know how to build prisons. And no wonder. The U.S. has more of its citizens behind bars than any other country. Of the estimated 9 million people incarcerated worldwide, more than 2 million are locked up right here at home, and a majority of them are people of color and poor people. [more]