The prison population in the United States

August 1st, 2004 | by aobaoill |

So the U.S.A. has 2.1 million people in prison. Add this to the fact that “crime rates have been declining since 1990, but the prison population has risen by 49% during this time.” This is the biggest prison population in the world, and an unusually high proportion of the population. Toby, in his piece, points to issues of race, and the relationship with Abu Ghraib. I would also wonder whether there is a relationship with the militarised culture of the United States – I’m not sure of the exact correlation, but I have a sense that the two have something in common.

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