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Ear to the Ground

1 in 136 U.S. Residents Behind Bars

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Posted on May 21, 2006

Let those numbers sink in for a minute. 1 in 136. According to government statistics, roughly 2.2 million U.S. residents were in prisons and jails last summer. It’s by far the highest per capita rate of any country in the world. And it’s mostly due to our unforgivably barbaric drug policies.

AP:

WASHINGTON - Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents, behind bars by last summer.

The total on June 30, 2005, was 56,428 more than at the same time in 2004, the government reported Sunday. That 2.6 percent increase from mid-2004 to mid-2005 translates into a weekly rise of 1,085 inmates.

Of particular note was the gain of 33,539 inmates in jails, the largest increase since 1997, researcher Allen J. Beck said. That was a 4.7 percent growth rate, compared with a 1.6 percent increase in people held in state and federal prisons.

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By Scott, May 24, 2006 at 9:27 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

That’s right, “sawdust”.  America’s moral problem always has to do with a political party.  As a matter of fact, every problem somehow is related to the polical party that you’re not from, doesn’t it?  And what the… oh, never mind.  Doofus.

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By Scott MacDonald, May 23, 2006 at 1:43 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

America’s shining beacon is looking more and more like that flaming eyeball in Mordor.

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By sawdust, May 23, 2006 at 5:25 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Considering that most of the people in jails for drug use are from the lower classes, it might be worth considering that one hell of a lot of people are being disinfranchised.  Consider the case of some neighbors of mine.  The son becomes a suspect--police raid the home.  Mother and father both plead guilty to having 3 ounces of pot and paraphenalia with trace of meth on it in their home.  Two more democratic voters who are not drug addicts are now felons and unable to vote even though they were placed on probation and served their probation without incident.  How many hard working people occaissionally smoke pot?  How many non-addicts are in jail on drug charges?  How may well to do republicans RUSH out and get a lawyer, and never even have a mark on their record for dangerous drugs like oxycontin--prescription Heroin.

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By George S Semsel, May 22, 2006 at 3:19 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

When are all those people so concerned about human rights going to take a serious look on what lies behind the drug laws and prison system in this country?  We have created a legal system for disenfranchisement.

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