Reply #88: Here is barbarity

[Mika]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/math/incarceration_story_9-05.html

The prison population in the U.S. has reached its highest figure ever. In addition to creating budget problems for many states, the high number of prisoners has put a strain on family life and social services.

The U.S. prison population reached a staggering two million people in 2002, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The new figure marks a 2.6 percent increase over the 2001 inmate population.

"The U.S. now locks up its citizens at a rate 5-8 times that of the industrialized nations to which we are most similar, Canada and Western Europe," said Marc Mauer, Assistant Director of The Sentencing Project, a non-profit criminal justice research and advocacy group.

While Canada imprisons 116 people out of every 100,000 in the country, the U.S. locks up 702 people per 100,000.