The Prison Industry
History of the US Prison Industry
The Prison Industrial Complex by Eric Schlosser Dec. 1998
Current US Prison Outlook
We are the Home of the Incarcerated
- Although we only have 4.25% of the world's population (per worldometer), we have over 20% of the world's prisoners
- 1 out of 5 incarcerated people in the world is incarcerated in the U.S.
- "Looking at the big picture requires us to ask if it really makes sense to lock up 2.3 million people on any given day, giving this nation the dubious distinction of having the highest incarceration rate in the world." - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020
Pretrial policies drive jail growth "This "pre-trial" or "unconvicted" population is driving the growth in jail populations. In fact, 99% of the growth in jails over the last 15 years has been a result of increases in the pre-trial population... [and this] was in the detention of people who are legally innocent" - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020
Below are excerpts from:
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020 by Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner 3/24/2020
"This report
offers some much needed clarity by piecing together this country's disparate
systems of confinement. The
American criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in
1,833 state prisons, 110 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional
facilities, 3,134 local jails, 218 immigration detention facilities, and 80
Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers,
state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories.1 This report provides a detailed look at where and why people are locked
up in the U.S., and dispels some modern myths to focus attention on the real
drivers of mass incarceration, including exceedingly punitive responses to even
the most minor offenses."
"This big-picture view allows us to focus on the most important drivers of mass incarceration and identify important, but often ignored, systems of confinement. The detailed views bring these overlooked systems to light, from immigration detention to civil commitment and youth confinement. In particular, local jails often receive short shrift in larger discussions about criminal justice, but they play a critical role as "incarceration's front door" and have a far greater impact than the daily population suggests."
Five Myths
About Mass Incarceration: From Prison Policy.org (Details)
The First Myth:
Releasing "nonviolent drug offenders" would end mass incarceration
The Second Myth: Private Prisons are the corrupt heart of mass incarceration: Private prisons are a small slice of the pie
The Third Myth: Prisons are "factories behind fences" that exist to provide companies with a huge slave labor force
The Fourth Myth: People in prison for violent or sexual crimes are too dangerous to be released
The Fifth Myth: Expanding community supervision is the best way to reduce incarceration
Info Links:
MUST SEE VIDEO Mandatory Minimum Sentencing (watch from 2:59 to 3:44)
This Is a Problem in DELCO! (Delaware County, PA)
And it happens every day at G.W. Hill
MUST READ Private Prisons Are Essentially a Parasite
This is a Problem in DELCO!
MUST READProbation: The Nicest Sounding Way to Grease the Skids of Mass Incarceration
This is a Problem in DELCO!
MUST READ Some Private Prisons are, um, public
This is a Problem in DELCO!
MUST SEE VIDEOICYMI: Explainers on Bail and Private Police
This is a Problem in DELCO!
MUST READ Local Jails: The real scandal is the churn
This Is a Problem in DELCO!
The high costs of low-level offenses
Probation & parole violations and "holds" lead to unnecessary
incarceration
Technical violations are the main reason for incarceration of people on probation and parole
Mass incarceration directly impacts millions of people
Misdemeanors: Minor offenses with major consequences
"Misdemeanor
charges may sound like small potatoes, but they carry serious financial,
personal, and social costs, especially for defendants but also for broader society, which
finances the processing of these court cases and all of the unnecessary
incarceration that comes with them. And then there are the moral costs: People charged with misdemeanors
are often not
appointed counsel and are pressured to plead guilty and accept a
probation sentence to avoid jail time. This means that
innocent people routinely plead guilty, and are then burdened with the
many collateral
consequences that come with a criminal record, as well as the
heightened risk of future incarceration for probation violations. A misdemeanor
system that pressures innocent defendants to plead guilty seriously undermines
American principles of justice." - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020
Freedom from the Ultimate Prison