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Locked Up: How the Modern Prison-Industrial Complex Puts So Many Americans in Jail
Ammo.com ^ | 3/31/2025 | Sam Jacobs

Posted on 03/31/2025 1:51:44 PM PDT by ammodotcom

personal sovereignty There’s no two ways about it: The United States of America and its 50 state governments love putting people in prison.

The U.S. has both the highest number of prisoners and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the modern world at 655 adults per 100,000. (It’s worth noting that China’s incarceration statistics are dubious, and they execute far more people than the United States. Indeed, the so-called People’s Republic executes more people annually than the rest of the world combined.) Still, that’s more than 2.2 million Americans in state and federal prisons as well as county jails.

On top of those currently serving time, 4.7 million Americans were on parole in 2016, or about one in 56. These numbers do not include people on probation, which raises the number to one in 35. Nor does it include all of the Americans who have been arrested at one time or another, which is over 70 million – more than the population of France.

(Excerpt) Read more at ammo.com ...


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: prison; prisonindustrial; usa
For firearm owners in particular, the growth in this “prison-industrial complex” is troubling because felons are forbidden from owning firearms and ammunition under the 1968 Gun Control Act. As the number of laws has grown and the cultural shift for police has gone from a focus on keeping the peace to enforcing the law, more and more Americans are being stripped of their 2nd Amendment rights (not to mention other civil rights like voting – as of 2017, 6.1 million Americans cannot vote because of their criminal records). All told, eight percent of all Americans cannot own firearms because of a felony conviction.

For American society as a whole, the prison-industrial complex has created a perverse incentive structure. Bad laws drive out respect for good laws because there are just so many laws (not to mention rules, regulations, and other prohibitions used by federal prosecutors to pin crimes on just about anyone). How did we get here?

1 posted on 03/31/2025 1:51:44 PM PDT by ammodotcom
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To: ammodotcom

Trump’s pardon czar :)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-pardon-czar-explains-key-differences-trump-biden-pardons


2 posted on 03/31/2025 1:55:30 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: ammodotcom

If they would lock up the right/top people we would see a drastic decline in the prison population. But that’s nearly impossible when they rule the world, emphasis is on “nearly.”


3 posted on 03/31/2025 2:03:29 PM PDT by jacknhoo (Luke 12:51; Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation.)
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To: ammodotcom

There are not enough people in jail or prison. Up in WA state they don’t arrest people for being in possession of heroin, fentanyl, or coke. They take it away and write a citation.


4 posted on 03/31/2025 2:03:52 PM PDT by Glad2bnuts
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To: ammodotcom

Funny how this story comes out now, not in the last 4 years of Biden.


5 posted on 03/31/2025 2:09:18 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Funny I have never been in jail, curious. I don’t do the crime so I don’t do the time


6 posted on 03/31/2025 2:24:58 PM PDT by blitz128
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To: Secret Agent Man
Funny how this story comes out now, not in the last 4 years of Biden.

This old/recycled blog post is from April 2019. Not sure why it's presented by the poster as new.

7 posted on 03/31/2025 2:46:24 PM PDT by ETCM (“There is no security, no safety, in the appeasement of evil.” — Ronald Reagan)
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To: ammodotcom

Uh, they commit crimes?


8 posted on 03/31/2025 2:47:46 PM PDT by Fledermaus ("It turns out all we really needed was a new President!")
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To: ammodotcom

Jail for drug usage is insanely stupid.


9 posted on 03/31/2025 2:54:55 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: ammodotcom

Hmmmm....I wonder what the break down by race looks like?


10 posted on 03/31/2025 3:00:07 PM PDT by TheDon (Remember the J6 political prisoners! Remember Ashli Babbitt!)
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To: Sam Gamgee
Jail for drug usage is insanely stupid.

True, jail should be reserved for distribution. That said, a large majority of people in prison are there for violent crimes. "Most" prisoners being drug offenders is a myth, with drug offenses making up about 13% of the population. Not sure what portion of that 13% are dealers, but probably most of them.

11 posted on 03/31/2025 3:03:24 PM PDT by ETCM (“There is no security, no safety, in the appeasement of evil.” — Ronald Reagan)
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To: ETCM

I didn’t know about the 13% number. Thanks.


12 posted on 03/31/2025 3:25:40 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: ammodotcom

There is a very interesting book called “Three Felonies and Day” which clearly reveals how the innocent is targeted. It has gotten so bad, a SCOTUS Justice by the name of Neil Gorsuch had to write a book called “OVER-RULED” which points to the over-whelming number of laws, many in direct conflict with another, in our society.

Maybe Americans need to quit electing lawyers while Congress eliminates all Federal courts sans SCOTUS!!


13 posted on 03/31/2025 3:43:02 PM PDT by Racketeer
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To: Glad2bnuts

“There are not enough people in jail or prison. Up in WA state they don’t arrest people for being in possession of heroin, fentanyl, or coke. They take it away and write a citation.”

I agree. When it comes to prison or incarceration, that person must be violent.


14 posted on 03/31/2025 3:45:24 PM PDT by Racketeer
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To: ammodotcom
I don't know about other states, but NY State is not locking people up. In fact, since the scamdemic, they've been cutting convicts loose early, and closing multiple state prisons. Hochul wants to close at least five more prisons in the state this year. There was recently a wildcat strike among Correctional Officers in the state. The strike took place because the department has been forcing uniformed staff to work 24 hour shifts on a regular basis. That is not supposed to occur unless there is an emergency situation. The state can't get anyone to take the Civil Service test for Correctional Officer, and the reasons they've forced staff to work 24 hours shifts is because of staff shortages around the state. In many cases, facility administrators will close down necessary jobs of uniformed staff, and force another uniformed employee to cover their own assigned post, and the post of the job they closed down.

The other reason the officers went on strike was The Halt Act that was passed by the State Legislature. The Act drastically cut the amount of time an inmate could be held in segregation as the result of assault and other serious charges. Cutting inmates time in special housing for disciplinary reasons is no different than liberal D.A.'s releasing perps right back onto the street within hours of arrest, so they can reoffend again.

15 posted on 03/31/2025 3:49:48 PM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: ammodotcom

“The U.S. has both the highest number of prisoners and the HIGHEST per capita INCARCERATION RATE in the modern world at 655 adults per 100,000.”

Oh we do? I wonder how many people read the above and automatically take them at their word. I also wonder if the people writing this even bothered to check. Not hard...took me a few seconds on Google.

El Salvador has 110,000 in prison out of a population of 6.31 Million. This works out to 1740 prisoners per 100,000 people, nearly THREE TIMES the rate of the United States.

El Salvador is the only country that I checked, but I suspect there are many more...starting with North Korea, for example.

Bottom Line: Don’t take crap at face value, particularly if it’s very easy to FIND THE TRUTH.


16 posted on 03/31/2025 4:15:20 PM PDT by BobL
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To: ammodotcom
For firearm owners in particular, the growth in this “prison-industrial complex” is troubling because felons are forbidden from owning firearms and ammunition under the 1968 Gun Control Act.

Oh, please. By my estimate there should be at least double the incarceration rate to return to the safe streets of the '50s or, for that matter, the '70s.

It's liberalism which let gangs explode in this country and, frankly, this article smells on high of liberalism despite the 2A red herring.

17 posted on 03/31/2025 5:29:13 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: ammodotcom

my friend spent 6 weeks in county jail here in MA for a simple dui, no harm or damage to anything...the judge told him that he was a threat to society pending trial.
He was found innocent believe it or not.
While in there he told me that over half of the inmates were there for restraining order violations.


18 posted on 03/31/2025 9:37:26 PM PDT by mowowie
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