The Prison Problem

Scope

The United States holds the grim distinction of incarcerating more than 2.3 million
people; a figure that is higher than the total of the next two countries on the list. The U.S
incarceration rate of 738 per 100,000 people is considerably higher, by a factor of five, than
that of the rest of the developed world and higher than authoritarian countries such as China
and Russia. The high incarceration rates are even more dismal when you consider the fact that
the U.S is home to just 5% of the world population but 23.6% of its inmates.

The Media

The media does discuss the problem of the exploding prison explosion but they never
talk about the issues that arise when you jail such a large number of people or the root causes
of the phenomenon. The issue is considered mainly a fringe issue, due to its racial context, and
as such it is sidelined from a more central role in the daily discussion.

http://www.clipser.com/watch_video/114473 (FOX NEWS talking about how big the numbers

are but they are not as bad as those of China)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0814/p02s04-usju.html (Christian Monitor talks about how

the recent California riots may have been sparked by race desegregation)

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1916194,00.html (Time comparing

California’s prisons with those of Mexico)

http://thefastertimes.com/civilliberties/2009/08/14/the-moral-choice-at-the-heart-of-the-
prison-crisis-weekend-liberties-wrap/ (Good Article about the issues and the morals of the
problems)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXOHtlvO9jI&feature=related (Independent Documentary

Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI9vEd3O0g0&feature=related (Independent
Documentary Part 2)

http://www.populistamerica.com/incarceration_nation_the_rise_of_a_prison_industrial_comp
lex (Article about the problems of Prisons)

http://www.prisons.net/hardtimeblues.htm ( A history of what might have led to the present

situation)
 The prisoners are portrayed as dangerous and predatory that would represent a
gargantuan problem for their community and society at large if they were to be released. Prison
inmates are portrayed as antisocial and as sexual predators that are better locked up inside the
prison walls than rehabilitated. Rehabilitation is not even on the table.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYJJEnTn9P0 (National Geographic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSHyfrOeT20 (Lockup Raw 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-juWHgfSAU (Lockup Raw 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxGldmdowhI&feature=related (Lockup Raw

Sexual)

A favorite of the media is the exponential growth of state and federal spending on
corrections. There is complete silence in the media about the human costs that these, mostly
long term, detentions cause on the imprisoned, their families and their communities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/us/03prison.html?_r=1 (Spending out of

control!)

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2001/us-prison-spending-
quadruples.html (Spending quadruples while incarcerations double but crime has not been
decreasing by these margins)

Another major complaint about the rising prison population is the use of jails as a place
of care for the people with development and mental disabilities. States budgets are being
slashed and when it comes to mental care jails have become the institution of choice in order
to hide, as no treatment is taking place, the insane from the sane.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/08/15/justice-in-texas-mistreating-
developmentally-disabled-nets-jail-time/ (Blog entry about prisoners being used as amusement,
Texas Abu Grab)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/us/10juvenile.html?_r=1&emc=eta1 (The rising

problems of juvenile mental health and prisons)

http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/08/juvenile_jails_see_rise_in_men.ht
ml (Juveniles with issues being sent to Jail)

Private Business
An important issue in the incarceration debate is the rise of the prison industrial
complex. The crucial link between incarceration and profits has created incentives for the
industry to keep the people inside in order to maximize profits. Prisoners are also used a source
of cheap labor and are usually forced to work for insignificant wages .There are no incentives in
reforming people and preparing them for life outside of prison; something that stands in
contrasts to the American ethos a second chance.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8289 (big business or a new

form of slavery)

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/73092-Freedom-watch-Jailhouse-bloc/ (The real reason

law-and-order types love mandatory-minimum sentencing?)

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/07/what-do-prisoners-make-victorias-secret (A list
of what prisoners are responsible for making.)

http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2006/04/the_proliferation_of_prison_la.html (The
proliferation of prison labor)

http://www.monitor.net/monitor/9807a/copyright/prisonvolunteer.html (Is there such a thing

as voluntary labor?)

The Facts

The statistics are even more depressing when you consider that 60% of the inmate
population is comprised of racial and ethnic minorities:

 Whites: 409 per 100,000

 Latinos: 1,038 per 100,00
 Blacks: 2,468 per 100,000

Gender is an important "filter" on who goes to prison or jail, June 30, 2006:

 Females: 134 per 100,000

 Males: 1,384 per 100,000

Look at just the males by race, and the incarceration rates become even more frightening, June
30, 2006:

 White males: 736 per 100,000

 Latino males: 1,862 per 100,000
 Black males: 4,789 per 100,000

If you look at males aged 25-29 and by race, you can see what is going on even clearer, June 30,
2006:

 For White males ages 25-29: 1,685 per 100,000.

 For Latino males ages 25-29: 3,912 per 100,000.
  For Black males ages 25-29: 11,695 per 100,000. (That's 11.7% of Black men in their late
20s.)

U.S. incarceration rates by race, June 30, 2006: http://www.prisonsucks.com/ (Source)

http://www.sentencingproject.org/map/map.cfm#map (Interactive Map)