Why does the United States have the largest prison population in the world ?

[whoisit]

The answer, of course, is racism. Do we really need an excuse to incarcerate our innocent black and hispanic population?

there are no innocent blacks, browns or white in prison,,,

99.5% true, I believe. We have a large prison population for two reasons.
1) An ethnically diverse population
2) The rule of law

And we lock up wrong people.

We have more people in prison for nonviolent drug and property crimes than we do violent criminals and murderers

Only a fucking LIB idiot would claim that property crime isn't violent!
Tell that to the victims of property crime.
That's like saying if someone tears off a woman's dress there was no 'violence' b/c she wasn't injured.
Every gram of illegal drugs entering the US has had some form of violence associated with it at some level or many levels.
THINK!!!!!!!
The cartels control EVERY fucking gram that enters the US. Including the cartels in China et al. You want violence?

Seldom ever heard of yet very active cartel is Russian.
China is not a interested in us anymore, now they are after Africa and its huge supply of natural resources.

 

[The Original Tree]

It’s no secret that the U.S. incarcerates a shocking number of swaths of its own people, primarily the poor and people of color. With 2.3 million Americans currently being held in prisons, the country has the largest prison population in the world. But even as awareness of mass incarceration grows, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the debate on prison reform: Why does the U.S. imprison so many people, and how do we change our toxic approach? These are the issues Tony Platt, author of “Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States,” and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.”

(snip)....There’s a tendency these days for people to say the United States proportionally incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that’s true. I just don’t think we know what the real situation is in China and Russia, which are the big competitors in incarceration. I think the U.S. is in the ballpark; I think the U.S. is close. When you compare the U.S. with Canada or Australia or New Zealand, or France and England, then there’s no contest. There’s no other country that’s comparable to the United States in terms of its political economy that puts as many people away, that hires as many cops, and invests as much money in repression as this country does.

CONTINUED---https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-liberal-betrayal-of-americas-most-vulnerable/

If every American had to do 30 days to get a taste of what it's like inside, we would put an end to this mass incarceration real fast. You don't realize how bad it is until it happens to someone close to you. Out of sight- out of mind....2.3 million forgotten souls living in hell.

Ask Bill and Hillary Clinton.

 

[jc456]

Because when you have a free nation, some people abuse freedom of other people, which was not what was meant by the framers.

Seems like the worst criminals get away with their crimes though.

You forget the other part. Laws are for us, not them.

A huge double standard. Look at Ted Kennedy and that girl who drowned when he was drunk and drove the car into the lake. Probably didn't even lose his license when most regular folks would have been charged with homicide.

No one ever got a D.U.I. back then either

MADD

 

[whoisit]

It’s no secret that the U.S. incarcerates a shocking number of swaths of its own people, primarily the poor and people of color. With 2.3 million Americans currently being held in prisons, the country has the largest prison population in the world. But even as awareness of mass incarceration grows, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the debate on prison reform: Why does the U.S. imprison so many people, and how do we change our toxic approach? These are the issues Tony Platt, author of “Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States,” and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.”

(snip)....There’s a tendency these days for people to say the United States proportionally incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that’s true. I just don’t think we know what the real situation is in China and Russia, which are the big competitors in incarceration. I think the U.S. is in the ballpark; I think the U.S. is close. When you compare the U.S. with Canada or Australia or New Zealand, or France and England, then there’s no contest. There’s no other country that’s comparable to the United States in terms of its political economy that puts as many people away, that hires as many cops, and invests as much money in repression as this country does.

CONTINUED---https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-liberal-betrayal-of-americas-most-vulnerable/

If every American had to do 30 days to get a taste of what it's like inside, we would put an end to this mass incarceration real fast. You don't realize how bad it is until it happens to someone close to you. Out of sight- out of mind....2.3 million forgotten souls living in hell.

Ask Bill and Hillary Clinton.

And Obama and Holder " Fast and Furious".

 

[BrokeLoser]

Simple shit.

 

[Godboy]

It’s no secret that the U.S. incarcerates a shocking number of swaths of its own people, primarily the poor and people of color. With 2.3 million Americans currently being held in prisons, the country has the largest prison population in the world. But even as awareness of mass incarceration grows, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the debate on prison reform: Why does the U.S. imprison so many people, and how do we change our toxic approach? These are the issues Tony Platt, author of “Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States,” and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.”

(snip)....There’s a tendency these days for people to say the United States proportionally incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that’s true. I just don’t think we know what the real situation is in China and Russia, which are the big competitors in incarceration. I think the U.S. is in the ballpark; I think the U.S. is close. When you compare the U.S. with Canada or Australia or New Zealand, or France and England, then there’s no contest. There’s no other country that’s comparable to the United States in terms of its political economy that puts as many people away, that hires as many cops, and invests as much money in repression as this country does.

CONTINUED---https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-liberal-betrayal-of-americas-most-vulnerable/

If every American had to do 30 days to get a taste of what it's like inside, we would put an end to this mass incarceration real fast. You don't realize how bad it is until it happens to someone close to you. Out of sight- out of mind....2.3 million forgotten souls living in hell.

You have to decide whether you want a lot of people in prison, or a very high unsolved crime rate. We fortunately have the best investigators in the world, so we catch a lot more criminals than other countries. Our high prison rates are a good thing.

 

[whoisit]

It’s no secret that the U.S. incarcerates a shocking number of swaths of its own people, primarily the poor and people of color. With 2.3 million Americans currently being held in prisons, the country has the largest prison population in the world. But even as awareness of mass incarceration grows, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the debate on prison reform: Why does the U.S. imprison so many people, and how do we change our toxic approach? These are the issues Tony Platt, author of “Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States,” and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.”

(snip)....There’s a tendency these days for people to say the United States proportionally incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that’s true. I just don’t think we know what the real situation is in China and Russia, which are the big competitors in incarceration. I think the U.S. is in the ballpark; I think the U.S. is close. When you compare the U.S. with Canada or Australia or New Zealand, or France and England, then there’s no contest. There’s no other country that’s comparable to the United States in terms of its political economy that puts as many people away, that hires as many cops, and invests as much money in repression as this country does.

CONTINUED---https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-liberal-betrayal-of-americas-most-vulnerable/

If every American had to do 30 days to get a taste of what it's like inside, we would put an end to this mass incarceration real fast. You don't realize how bad it is until it happens to someone close to you. Out of sight- out of mind....2.3 million forgotten souls living in hell.

You have to decide whether you want a lot of people in prison, or a very high unsolved crime rate. We fortunately have the best investigators in the world, so we catch a lot more criminals than other countries. Our high prison rates are a good thing.

Although I somewhat agree with you I also think the time should fit the crime.
Young people experimenting with drugs is nothing new. If private owned prisons were around back then at least 7 out of 10 in the 60s & 70s would have went to prison.
I am totally against any private run prison system.
America is not what it use to be when capitalism was capitalism before big biz took over our nation and dictated their wishes to our corrupt leadership on both parties.
I don't and never have liked or did drugs so no bias.

 

[Wyatt earp]

Because when you have a free nation, some people abuse freedom of other people, which was not what was meant by the framers.

Seems like the worst criminals get away with their crimes though.

You forget the other part. Laws are for us, not them.

A huge double standard. Look at Ted Kennedy and that girl who drowned when he was drunk and drove the car into the lake. Probably didn't even lose his license when most regular folks would have been charged with homicide.

No one ever got a D.U.I. back then either

I personally remember getting off with warnings in the 70's
and I've had 2 actual DUI's - one in 1998 and one in 2013 , and I've long since stopped drinking alcohol. One of my sons had 3 in Texas and the 3rd one was a $10,000 felony, he got behind on payments, got arrested at a party with weed on him and the prick judge revoked his probation and gave him 2 years.

And what people don't realize is how it affects the families of those locked up. Thousands in fines and attorney fees, the cost of travelling for visitation, commissary money ( inmates can't live on the shit they feed them) every week...etc. Our attorney was $7000.

Yea I only got one D.U.I. back in the early 1990's it was because I wanted one...
(I was being a dick on purpose)

The rest the cops just drove me home or looked the other way.

 

[Crixus]

Seems like the worst criminals get away with their crimes though.

You forget the other part. Laws are for us, not them.

A huge double standard. Look at Ted Kennedy and that girl who drowned when he was drunk and drove the car into the lake. Probably didn't even lose his license when most regular folks would have been charged with homicide.

No one ever got a D.U.I. back then either

I personally remember getting off with warnings in the 70's
and I've had 2 actual DUI's - one in 1998 and one in 2013 , and I've long since stopped drinking alcohol. One of my sons had 3 in Texas and the 3rd one was a $10,000 felony, he got behind on payments, got arrested at a party with weed on him and the prick judge revoked his probation and gave him 2 years.

And what people don't realize is how it affects the families of those locked up. Thousands in fines and attorney fees, the cost of travelling for visitation, commissary money ( inmates can't live on the shit they feed them) every week...etc. Our attorney was $7000.

Yea I only got one D.U.I. back in the early 1990's it was because I wanted one...
(I was being a dick on purpose)

The rest the cops just drove me home or looked the other way.

 

[the other mike]

As you already pointed out, our drug problem and murder rates are also the highest in the world. Are our prisons that bad? I tend to think not. Threes square meals a day, snacks if your family deposits into your account. A pool room, a workout room, some with a football field. A nice private room if you wish to start a family with your wife.

We have the same things in the outside world. We call them Get Away Weekends, and we have to pay for them ourselves.

I know people who went to prison or are still there. The recidivism rate is unsurpassed compared to other countries. That tells me we don't provide enough of a deterrent. What would be a good deterrent? Watch the movie Cool Hand Luke. That's a deterrent.

Like I said, it's "out of sight out of mind " with most people.

 

[mudwhistle]

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-liberal-betrayal-of-americas-most-vulnerable/

It’s no secret that the U.S. incarcerates a shocking number of swaths of its own people, primarily the poor and people of color. With 2.3 million Americans currently being held in prisons, the country has the largest prison population in the world. But even as awareness of mass incarceration grows, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the debate on prison reform: Why does the U.S. imprison so many people, and how do we change our toxic approach? These are the issues Tony Platt, author of “Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States,” and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.”

(snip)....There’s a tendency these days for people to say the United States proportionally incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that’s true. I just don’t think we know what the real situation is in China and Russia, which are the big competitors in incarceration. I think the U.S. is in the ballpark; I think the U.S. is close. When you compare the U.S. with Canada or Australia or New Zealand, or France and England, then there’s no contest. There’s no other country that’s comparable to the United States in terms of its political economy that puts as many people away, that hires as many cops, and invests as much money in repression as this country does.

If every American had to do 30 days to get a taste of what it's like in there when you put someone away for 5, 10, 20 years or more, we would put an end to this mass incarceration. You don't realize how bad it is until it happens to someone close to you. Out of sight- out of mind....2.3 million forgotten souls living in hell.

A big part is because we are so far away on our criminals. Other countries tend to kill them.

I think it's liberal cities with no respect for the law.

 

[Anathema]

Very simple - We refuse to execute violent, immoral and repeat offenders like we should.

Thst would greatly reduce the prison oooulation.

 

[airplanemechanic]

Easy, because we criminalize everything. When you criminalize all behavior, you make criminals out of all mankind.

 

[Claudette]

Considering that we have a large diverse population. Considering we have one of the few countries that allows as many freedoms. It is a wonder we do not have more crime then we do.

I agree. There are over 300 million Americans and I'm surprised there aren't more criminals than there are.

When you have that many people in one country you are bound to have more criminals.

 

[thereisnospoon]

It’s no secret that the U.S. incarcerates a shocking number of swaths of its own people, primarily the poor and people of color. With 2.3 million Americans currently being held in prisons, the country has the largest prison population in the world. But even as awareness of mass incarceration grows, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the debate on prison reform: Why does the U.S. imprison so many people, and how do we change our toxic approach? These are the issues Tony Platt, author of “Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States,” and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.”

(snip)....There’s a tendency these days for people to say the United States proportionally incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that’s true. I just don’t think we know what the real situation is in China and Russia, which are the big competitors in incarceration. I think the U.S. is in the ballpark; I think the U.S. is close. When you compare the U.S. with Canada or Australia or New Zealand, or France and England, then there’s no contest. There’s no other country that’s comparable to the United States in terms of its political economy that puts as many people away, that hires as many cops, and invests as much money in repression as this country does.

CONTINUED---https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-liberal-betrayal-of-americas-most-vulnerable/

If every American had to do 30 days to get a taste of what it's like inside, we would put an end to this mass incarceration real fast. You don't realize how bad it is until it happens to someone close to you. Out of sight- out of mind....2.3 million forgotten souls living in hell.

Two reasons.
One, compared to other nations, we coddle inmates.
Two, in most countries, prison life is very harsh. As such, people are deterred from becoming criminals.
Three, with many nations cultures, there is higher sense of civility and community. Therefore less crime. Less crime means fewer inmates.

 

[sartre play]

Remember the 3 strike law, one big reason for the mess.

 

[the other mike]

Americans are so snookered it's not even funny anymore.
Our government covertly flooded the streets with drugs and guns, then beefed up the police/prison industry at taxpayers expense and created harsh drug laws in order to imprison American citizens for profit.
Private Prison Lobbyists Are Raising Cash for Hillary Clinton

https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/24/investing/private-prison-stocks-soar-trump/index.html

 

[the other mike]

 

[NLT]

Why does the United States have the largest prison population in the world ?

Because of this

And this

And This

 

[the other mike]