US has 2 Million prisoners

[alaric]

Here is an interesting bit of news, presented in the format my crappy intro to law prof uses for every essay:

U.S. Prisons, Jails Now Hold 2 Million Inmates. Discuss.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=514&e=7&u=/ap/20030406/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/prison_population

[tasty]

I think the prison system needs major reform. I think people that commit violent crimes deserve to be punished, but the war on drugs is bullshit. Same with three strikes laws. It's all about priorities. The government has consistently shown that they would rather incarcerate someone for a majority of their life than put in the work needed to create societal change. It's a lazy solution that perpetuates rather than fixes problems. Also, the prison-industrial complex costs taxpayers exorbinant amounts. All in all a bad system in my opinion.

[kami]

Although expensive, I think they should try to help the inmates more to see the cause of their violent behaviour etc., instead of just throwing them into prison which in the long run will cost the society even more, especially if 1% of your population live in prisons. I saw a report that in 2100, if it continues like this, everyone in the US will be a prisoner.