Posted on 11/30/2006 4:57:13 AM PST by shrinkermd
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, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday.
More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005. Prison releases are increasing, but admissions are increasing more.
Men still far outnumber women in prisons and jails, but the female population is growing faster. Over the past year, the female population 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. The gender figures do not include inmates in local jails.
"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 to 2003, inmates in federal prison for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth.
The numbers are from the annual report from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. The report breaks down inmate populations for state and federal prisons and local jails.
Racial disparities among prisoners persist. In the 25-29 age group, 8.1 percent of black men _ about one in 13 _ 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 likely 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.
Boo Hoo!
...then I guess the system works?
How many due to the WOD?
A whole wad.
2.3%. Not enough I'd say!
Here is a comment for Bible students. Have you ever noticed that there was no provision for imprisonment or jails in the Mosaic laws for civil order? There was plenty of punishment, including execution, but no jails. Food for thought.
OK so now we know where about half the illegals in the US are or have been.Now all we've got to do is find the other half !!!
I wonder what the percentages would be like if illegals were left out?
I doubt the "honest" number to your question would be made public because there are people in BOTH political parties who would rather not have it made public !!!
The MSM doesn't control as much info-flow as they used to, but they still manage to control a lot of what we see.
Most are related to the drug war I suspect.
Do you ever do a search before you post??
"2.3%. Not enough I'd say!"
Be careful what you ask for. You may find yourself amongst the 1 in 32.
Once get into the probation system (even for minor misdemeanors) it's very difficult to get out. The Judicial System is similar to the Mafia. Everyone has their hand out. If you violate while on probation; leave the county, receive a traffic citation, drink beer, you go straight to jail... Only to find yourself with additional fines, fee's and probationary programs, which all take money out of your pocket. I speak from experience, as I unfortunately performed a bodily function, while tailgating at football game. It has ruined my life. Laws have become so intrusive (with no regard for common sense) that normal law abiding citizens go to jail and find themselves on probation regularly. This type of Police State is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
To be accurate, a LOT of them are not Americans, but are illegal immigrants.
i forget who wrote the article i have read but it was about how we are writing so many new laws on a daily basis that we are criminalizing (spelling) our society. on any given day any of us are unknowingly breaking the law that could land us in jail, or on probation. it seems that we also have very overzealous prosecutors that will try any meaningless case out there just to get another notch in his belt. not caring for anyone else but themselves. there used to be a time when our court system was used for the good or protecting our citizens from the truly dangerous criminals.
After we build walls on BOTH BORDERS,
all the illegals including the incarcerated(which account for ONE THIRD of all incarcerated) should be DEPORTED which will not only cut down on the cost but open up slots for AMERICAN criminals.
Why should we bear the cost of incarcerating other countries' criminals.
It's working!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.