>1 in 100 adult Americans behind bars

Status
Not open for further replies.
Behind bars for what reason? That is like when I hear Kids are starving in the U.S. then the next day I hear there is an obesity problem in kids in the U.S..What does it mean?
 
I wonder what % is due to non violent drug offenders or the war on drugs in general? Non violent drug offenders are part of it and should not be in jail IMO. We don't do enough for the common good in this country IMO and it shows. We are not #1 in so many areas that count.
 
What costs the common good more, incarceration or crime on the street?

I agree with buster though, incarceration for drug possession is absurd. However, here in NY, there is always resistance to repael the harsh "Rockefeller" drug laws as the upstate prison comunities are afraid of the economic cosequences that might arise.

I say that there are plenty of violent felons to fill the prisons.

I'll have to revisit GEO, a company that services prisons as an investment.
 
The original report has a lot more information, see below. There is a big difference by age, race, gender, and region. The south has the highest incarceration rates, but they've also traditionally had the highest crime and homicide rates by region.

The report also makes it more obvious why the US also has a high homicide rate, which is driven by firearms. As long as people demand the right to sell firearms to whoever they want and 1% of 'whoever' ends up in prison, is it surprising that we have a problem with firearms related crime ? Note that it's a diffeent issue than being able to buy a firearm for whatever reason, including protection from the 1% (only the ones that got caught) who end up in prison.

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One in 100.pdf
 
Get rid illegals..population goes down by 35%, execute murders, population goes down another 20%. Get rid of TV's, Air Conditioning, Sports conditioning (and provide each inmate with a ball/chain/hammer/rockpile. Population down to about .1%
 
Originally Posted By: 1sttruck

The report also makes it more obvious why the US also has a high homicide rate, which is driven by firearms.

Actually.firearms help reduce prison population. Drug dealers and bad guys frequently kill each other every gang murder is one les prisoner
 
I speak from personal experience when I say that not every one of those people are in prison because they broke the law. Cops are so crooked these days that you can get a 5 year felony charge for the simple accusation of 'SPITTING'. Now how much of a danger to society do you think someone like that is? Do you understand what I wrote?? Five year felony charge for spitting!!! I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't been the one charged.

There are a few on this board that know my story but I can tell you that just because someone is jailed doesn't necessarily mean they're criminals. I have seen a very bad breakdown in our system and it's such a shame to see the broken system supported so blindly by what I used to believe were intelligent and open-minded citizens.

Even the population of this board is quick to find someone guilty just because they've been charged. So much for being innocent until proven guilty with actual evidence. If a 'sworn' officer says it happened then it must be true. Cops would never lie for their own benefit.

I am proud to say that I fought the system and won. The education that I gained from the whole process was priceless.
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
Cops are so crooked these days that you can get a 5 year felony charge for the simple accusation of 'SPITTING'. I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't been the one charged.


OK

.999999999999999% In Jail bc they are criminals
.000000000000001% In Jail for spitting. Oh wait..you are not in jail. Forgive me If I don't believe one person in the U.S. went to jail for 5 years for spitting. (Unless you had aids and were spitting into someone's eyes.)
 
Last edited:
Thanks Al, you made my point with your prime example.

Interesting paragraph from the topic:

The report said the higher incarceration rates did not reflect a parallel increase in crime or in the nation's overall population. Instead, it said, more people are behind bars mainly because of tough sentencing measures.
 
So we Americans are obviously more prone to breaking laws and being criminals than all the rest of the world?
Or the "justice" system here is better at catching criminals and lawbreakers?
Or maybe the other alternative....
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Criminals don't really fear going to prison. I wonder why?


In my area (and I'm sure it's the same for the rest of the country as well), the young 'thug Gs' (gang members) actually consider it a badge of honor, even a requiremnet, to go to prison. It has gotten that bad.
This is even despite them knowing they will be gang-raped 20x a day there, they just DO NOT care!
This is why the "Scared Straight" program pretty much failed.
There is just sooo much kudos/respect, even deification, given to gangsta rappers, etc. that even horrid torture cannot change these kids' brainwashed minds.
The more serious/violent the crime/offense the better/more respect it garners.
It seems this is what our society has come to accept/admire (pimps, thugs, murderers, criminals in general).
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
Thanks Al, you made my point with your prime example.

The report said bla..bla...bla...


Well it a report and its by the very liberal AP which chooses to ignore minor facts like 33% of the Federal prison population are non-citizens. Just a minor factor.
smirk2.gif
 
That number is incorrect and misleading, Al.
http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/counting-noncitizens-in-us-prisons-117/

"Immigration crimes are federal offenses, hence the high proportion of noncitizens in federal prisons. There were seven times more prisoners in state prisons than in federal prisons in 2005, according to the BJS, and the overall proportion of noncitizens in all such facilities was just 6.4%."

And BTW, It's doubtful that 99.9999999etc. % of everyone in prison is guilty of what they were accused of.
And many who are guilty are guilty of small-time stuff that shouldn't even carry time.
 
MarkC,

That's just one opinion. Our society has decided that folks who commit crimes repeatedly will go away for even petty crimes.

We are still a nation of laws, and the people have largely spoken, indicating that they don't want repeat criminals walking around, free to continue to commit even petty crimes.

So I'm thinking if someone already has two strikes, they need to "protect the plate" and not strike out, or even hang out with folks who tend to get strikes.
 
So I wonder, with all these people in prison, and the resulting drop in the crime rate, how that rate stacks up against other "western" countries with fewer incarcerated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

buster
RIP Harald Malmgren - his last interview
Replies
1
Views
641
buster
S
The 1 Minute Eye Exam
Replies
10
Views
570
97prizm
shortyb
Adventures to the Gulf Coast
Replies
5
Views
325
shortyb
buster
Europe has fallen behind America and the gap is growing
12 13 14
Replies
266
Views
14K
Cropduster172
buster
Porsche Admits Trouble Ahead: “Our Business Model No Longer Works”
2 3
Replies
51
Views
2K
JHZR2
Back
Top Bottom