NEW YORK - For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population and urging states to rein in corrections costs with alternative sentencing programs.

 

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

 

Using updated state-by-state data, the report said 2,319,258 adults were held in U.S. prisons or jails at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults, and more than any other country in the world.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080228/ap_on_re_us/prison_population

The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state's crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state's inmate population has increased by 600 percent.

 

Wow! That wasn't a list I was proud to find us at the top of. :creepy:

We're number one!

A 3% increase in crime but a 600% increase in inmates can only be a result of stricter mandatory sentencing.

Legalize marijuana and I wonder how far this will drop?

Legalize marijuana and I wonder how far this will drop?

 

Do away with the 3 strikes law in places like California and I wonder how many will be released from Prison?

Legalize marijuana and I wonder how far this will drop?

 

Not Much.....Legalize Meth and prescription drug (OXYCONTIN ect...) then you would make a dent on the local jail crowd. Not a lot of people in jail for MJ, I know from attending district court from time to time that most small possession cases are handled with probation and a small fine.

 

I am not condoning legalizing meth just making a point

 

 

By the way I added to the Jail population today by sending someone to jail for theft.

Do away with the 3 strikes law in places like California and I wonder how many will be released from Prison?

 

Are you saying three felony convictions isn't enough for you to want to keep someone in prison. My only fault with three strikes is that I think at least two of the three strikes should be for a violent crime or theft. I don't want some kid in jail for downloading "Enter Sandman", but if the crimes are violent type crimes then I couldn't care less what the rest of the world thinks about our incarceration rate.

Maybe if we could solve the illegal alien issue it would help.

 

Citing an Urban Institute study, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies Steven Camorata noted in 2004: "Roughly 17 percent of the prison population at the federal level are illegal aliens. That's a huge number since illegal aliens only account for about 3 percent of the total population."

 

"The U.S. Justice Department estimated that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time nationally in 2003. Of those, 108,000 were in California. Some estimates show illegals now make up half of California's prison population, creating a massive criminal subculture that strains state budgets and creates a nightmare for local police forces."

 

Link to story quoted above

 

This was just one of many storys on this subject.

Are you saying three felony convictions isn't enough for you to want to keep someone in prison. My only fault with three strikes is that I think at least two of the three strikes should be for a violent crime or theft. I don't want some kid in jail for downloading "Enter Sandman", but if the crimes are violent type crimes then I couldn't care less what the rest of the world thinks about our incarceration rate.

 

The crimes don't have to be violent, that's my problem. Someone could have 2 cases of assault and then get in another stupid little scuffle and be in prison for the rest of their life! It's a stupid law that needs to be changed.

Maybe if we could solve the illegal alien issue it would help.

 

Citing an Urban Institute study, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies Steven Camorata noted in 2004: "Roughly 17 percent of the prison population at the federal level are illegal aliens. That's a huge number since illegal aliens only account for about 3 percent of the total population."

 

"The U.S. Justice Department estimated that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time nationally in 2003. Of those, 108,000 were in California. Some estimates show illegals now make up half of California's prison population, creating a massive criminal subculture that strains state budgets and creates a nightmare for local police forces."

 

Link to story quoted above

 

This was just one of many storys on this subject.

 

 

It says that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time in 2003. 108,000 in California, and thats supposed to make up half of California's prison population? It seems like California would have more than 216,000 people in jail or prison at any given point in time. Maybe I'm misunderstanding or misreading something.

Legalize marijuana and I wonder how far this will drop?

Agreed!

 

Get rid of all consensual/"victimless" crimes and watch it plummet.

The crimes don't have to be violent, that's my problem. Someone could have 2 cases of assault and then get in another stupid little scuffle and be in prison for the rest of their life! It's a stupid law that needs to be changed.

 

If you have been convicted twice, I think it would be in your best interest to stay out of scuffles. I agree, it is a stupid law. Three strikes are entirely too many.

If you have been convicted twice, I think it would be in your best interest to stay out of scuffles. I agree, it is a stupid law. Three strikes are entirely too many.

 

So you believe we should just lock up felons and throw away the key after one felony?

 

That'd really solve the overcrowding problem in prisons in America.

 

Ever heard of rehabilitation? I guess you don't believe in that either.

If you have been convicted twice, I think it would be in your best interest to stay out of scuffles. I agree, it is a stupid law. Three strikes are entirely too many.

 

I don't care if you've been convicted twice, it's not enough to lock someone away the third time if it's just assault that they are convicted for the third time. The three strikes law is not working.