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| 7.3 million in the US prison system |
| By Kate Randall -WSWS |
| Published: 03/04/2009 |
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USA- A study released this week by the Pew Center on the States delivers a staggering statistic: 7.3 million Americans-or 1 in every 31 adults-are in the nation's prison system. This figure includes those in US jails and prisons, on parole, on probation, or under other forms of correctional supervision. No other country comes close to matching this number. If these individuals were grouped together, they would number more than the entire populations of Israel or Honduras, or all of the residents of Washington state. The new study "One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections," follows a study by the Pew Center last year that found the US leading the world in the rate at which it puts its people behind bars: 1 in 100, or 2.3 million people. The last quarter-century has seen an explosion in the number of Americans incarcerated, growing by 274 percent. During this same period, those under "community supervision"-the term used by Pew to designate those on parole, probation or other prison supervision-also rose dramatically, from approximately 1.6 million in 1982, to 5.1 million in 2007. Leading the states is Georgia, where 1 in every 13 adults-7.92 percent of the state's adult population-is imprisoned or under supervision. Idaho is next (1 in 18, 5.71 percent), followed by the nation's capital, Washington, DC (1 in 21, or 4.82 percent). The 10 states with the highest numbers of people under "correctional control" include three Southern states-Louisiana, Georgia and Texas-which also have the highest prison rates. Also included in the top 10 are two New England states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as Ohio, Indiana and Minnesota in the Midwest. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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