Land of the free?

Posted by Marc Hodak on February 29, 2008 under Unintended consequences | 5 Comments to Read

One in 100 Americans are now in prison. That’s higher than Russia or China. Higher even than Cuba or Zimbabwe. Higher than any other nation, big or small, democratic or despotic. We have over one quarter of the world’s prison population. Thanks drug warriors. Way to go, Congress! Thanks Justices Kennedy and Scalia.

When breaking the law becomes so easy that one percent of your population is in jail, it erodes respect for the law. This statistic does not suggest that we have too many lawbreakers–it suggests we have too many laws.

  • sam said,

    It could also mean that America doesn’t have as many executioners as Russia, China, Cuba or Zimbabwe. But I see your point.

  • jasper said,

    I’m glad this Pew study is getting a lot of press, but what’s that pic?

  • M. Hodak said,

    The picture shows a prison in PA that holds up to 4,000 men. I enlarged it to make it a little easier to see.

  • pip said,

    I don’t understand how someone can say we have too many laws when white collar crime continues unabated. Maybe its just an enforcement problems, but we probably have too many poor blacks in jail, and not enough rich whites who steal much more.

  • eric said,

    At least they’ve gotten affirmative action right in one area.

    /snark

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