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US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/28/2008 9:59:13 PM   
cyberdude611


Posts: 2596
Joined: 5/7/2006
Status: offline 		According to a new report, 1 out of every 100 Americans are in prison. It's even worse for minorities. 1 in 15 blacks are in prison and 1 in 36 hispanics are in prison. The statistics show the United States incarerates more people than any other country in the world. In 2008, more than 2.8 million Americans were in jail. That is more than Russia and China combined.

It's becoming a major problem in some states who are struggling economically to balance budgets. 20 years ago, it cost all 50 states a combined $11 billion for corrections. Today that number has soared to $49 billion and it only increases each year.

Many experts say that new stategies need to be implimented such as more leniency for parole violations, more court supervision for low-risk offenders instead of prison sentences, and less jail time for low-risk crimes. However, such ideas are very unpopular among voters. Voters typically favor longer sentences and more mandatory sentences. And politicians typically like to portray themselves as "tough on crime."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080228/D8V3KF5O0.html
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 12:18:17 AM   
Termyn8or


Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline 		The US pulled into first place in the incarceration race back in the 80s. There has never been a valid challenger.

Where have you been ?

T

(in reply to cyberdude611)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 1:51:08 AM   
meatcleaver


Posts: 9030
Joined: 3/13/2006
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

According to a new report, 1 out of every 100 Americans are in prison. It's even worse for minorities. 1 in 15 blacks are in prison and 1 in 36 hispanics are in prison. The statistics show the United States incarerates more people than any other country in the world. In 2008, more than 2.8 million Americans were in jail. That is more than Russia and China combined.


There's a surprise.

The problem with American politics and democracy is that it is populist, people want their politicians to provide easy solutions to their complex problems. It just doesn't happen. You end up with candidates like in the primaries now between Hillary and Obama where they trade insults and no real policies are debated, its a beauty contest. Meanwhile you prison population grows and it discriminates against the poor and the black.

Don't feel I'm getting at you, Britain is almost as bad and it doesn't need to be. Instead of it keeping looking to America for answers, it could look the other way, it would find its European neighbours are doing a far better job. The only people that neeed loxcking up are those that are a danger to society. Usually around 10% of the people locked up in Britain's case.

< Message edited by meatcleaver -- 2/29/2008 1:52:56 AM >

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 2:32:22 AM   
RealityLicks


Posts: 1615
Joined: 10/23/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

The US pulled into first place in the incarceration race back in the 80s. There has never been a valid challenger.

Where have you been ?

T


In prison?

(in reply to Termyn8or)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 2:49:29 AM   
SugarMyChurro


Posts: 1912
Joined: 4/26/2007
Status: offline 		Again, another absolutely shameful aspect of the culture of the USA.

Prisoners represent cheap, non-union labor. The war on drugs is nothing but a sham to incarcerate intelligent, non-violent people as a forced labor pool.

And since Termyn8or is correct in his statement, can you imagine what it meant for the USA - the supposed land of the free and home of the brave - to be worse than Soviet Russia in this regard? I mean, they had the Gulag and we had the entire USA federal prison system.

Personally, it amazes me the things people don't seem to know and choose not to know.

People, wake the fuck up.

(in reply to RealityLicks)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 3:23:32 AM   
Loveisallyouneed


Posts: 348
Joined: 2/5/2008
From: Ontario, Canada
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

According to a new report, 1 out of every 100 Americans are in prison. It's even worse for minorities. 1 in 15 blacks are in prison and 1 in 36 hispanics are in prison. The statistics show the United States incarerates more people than any other country in the world. In 2008, more than 2.8 million Americans were in jail. That is more than Russia and China combined.



Highest murder rate in the world, highest incarceration rate in the world, legalized torture, metal detectors in schools ... and Americans have convinced themselves that we envy them their standard of living.



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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 4:40:15 AM   
aviinterra


Posts: 208
Joined: 11/3/2006
Status: offline 		I read this last night and kind of shrugged uneasily. Silly things should not earn you time behind bars. How about going the Martha Stewart way and putting on anklets and restricting people to their homes? Or community service? Sitting in jail is an out-dated Victorian form of punishment that should have been chucked out along with the rest of the nonesense from that era a long time ago, save for the most violent of offenders. 

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 4:42:08 AM   
aviinterra


Posts: 208
Joined: 11/3/2006
Status: offline
quote:

Highest murder rate in the world, highest incarceration rate in the world, legalized torture, metal detectors in schools ... and Americans have convinced themselves that we envy them their standard of living.


Unfortunately, you are right, the majority is still convinced that we are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Every so often, and more so lately than ever before, I find myself pursuing the pages of real estate in Europe, and cursing under my breath as I watch the dollar tumble.

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:08:01 AM   
joanus


Posts: 527
Joined: 2/28/2007
Status: offline 		USA is number 1! thats right America is fattest, dumbest, most criminalistec country in the world! WAY TO GO!

(in reply to aviinterra)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:12:19 AM   
MichiganHeadmast


Posts: 726
Joined: 8/13/2006
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: aviinterra

Unfortunately, you are right, the majority is still convinced that we are the greatest thing since sliced bread.



Well, the long lines at the entrance, and the short lines at the exit, ARE pretty persuasive there we're pretty damn good.

That said, this right-wing former cop is ready to trashcan the so-called war on drugs, and stop wasting jail space on users.  But frankly the war on drugs is without a doubt a bi-partisan effort, with adherants on both sides of the spectrum.  Only the Libertarians, IMO, take a sensible position on this.

Get rid of the war on drugs, impose fines, community service, and home detention for minor offenses, and you'll be able to let the murderers, rapists and armed robbers stay in jail for their natural lives (or at least until they are eligible for social security).

< Message edited by MichiganHeadmast -- 2/29/2008 5:14:10 AM >

(in reply to aviinterra)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:18:29 AM   
subrob1967


Posts: 4591
Joined: 9/13/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Loveisallyouneed
Highest murder rate in the world, highest incarceration rate in the world, legalized torture, metal detectors in schools ... and Americans have convinced themselves that we envy them their standard of living.


Yet we're also #1 in immigration, both legal & illegal, so some people think we're the greatest.

Freedom has it's choices, you can decide to live by society's laws, or break them. You have that freedom to choose. It's very simple, don't break the law, you don't go to jail... End of story.

We could be like China & pronounce someone guilty, and just take them out behind the courthouse and shoot them in the head, which I'm sure would deter crime much more effectively than our current system, but we don't.

"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time."

(in reply to Loveisallyouneed)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:19:26 AM   
lronitulstahp


Posts: 5392
Joined: 10/17/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

According to a new report, 1 out of every 100 Americans are in prison. It's even worse for minorities. 1 in 15 blacks are in prison and 1 in 36 hispanics are in prison. The statistics show the United States incarerates more people than any other country in the world. In 2008, more than 2.8 million Americans were in jail. That is more than Russia and China combined.

It's becoming a major problem in some states who are struggling economically to balance budgets. 20 years ago, it cost all 50 states a combined $11 billion for corrections. Today that number has soared to $49 billion and it only increases each year.

Many experts say that new stategies need to be implimented such as more leniency for parole violations, more court supervision for low-risk offenders instead of prison sentences, and less jail time for low-risk crimes. However, such ideas are very unpopular among voters. Voters typically favor longer sentences and more mandatory sentences. And politicians typically like to portray themselves as "tough on crime."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080228/D8V3KF5O0.html
YAY!!!! We're #1....U-S-A-U-S-A...sorry... i just doubt we'll be able to say we're #1 at decreasing carbon emissions, or providing healthcare, or social programs...so i figured at LEAST we're #1 at something....{{{puts away streamers and confetti, and begins to read dog-eared copy of "Utopia"....}}}

(in reply to cyberdude611)
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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:52:40 AM   
Sanity


Posts: 22039
Joined: 6/14/2006
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Status: offline 		Those are lies. The United States does not have the highest murder rate in the world, there are no metal detectors in any schools around where I live, and most Americans don't give a rats ass what you think.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Loveisallyouneed
Highest murder rate in the world, highest incarceration rate in the world, legalized torture, metal detectors in schools ... and Americans have convinced themselves that we envy them their standard of living.




_____________________________

Inside Every Liberal Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:57:23 AM   
kittinSol


Posts: 16926
Status: offline 		Still, according to your website the USA are #24; they're doing well, in the murder rate department.

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 5:58:21 AM   
NorthernGent


Posts: 8730
Joined: 7/10/2006
Status: offline 		In the interests of clarity, the United Kingdom is at number 46 on Sanity's list.

England and Wales' murder rate is 1/8th that of Scotland; take Scotland out of the UK equation and England has a similar rate to Japan - i.e. one of the lowest in the developed world.

As you were.

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Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 6:00:54 AM   
kittinSol


Posts: 16926
Status: offline 		But it's got nothing with guns. Nope.

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 6:02:26 AM   
caitlyn


Posts: 3473
Joined: 12/22/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Loveisallyouneed
Highest murder rate in the world, highest incarceration rate in the world, legalized torture, metal detectors in schools ... and Americans have convinced themselves that we envy them their standard of living.


Believe me, very few Americans are convinced that anyone envys them ... or even cares if anyone envys them.
 
There is a small, but very vocal minority here in the States that uses terms like "The envy of the world" to elevate themselves. Perhaps you have these in Canada also. My guess is that everyone has them.
 
We have some problems here in the States, that much is clear ...  but it's nice to know that we can still count on our "friends" to hit us below the belt when we are down.

< Message edited by caitlyn -- 2/29/2008 6:03:36 AM >

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I wish I could buy back ...
the woman you stole.

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 6:03:52 AM   
NorthernGent


Posts: 8730
Joined: 7/10/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol

But it's got nothing with guns. Nope.



I can't see how it can have anything to do with guns; if people have respect for one another, they don't go 'round shooting.

_____________________________

I have the courage to be a coward - but not beyond my limits.

Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

(in reply to kittinSol)
Profile   Post #: 18
RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 6:10:47 AM   
kittinSol


Posts: 16926
Status: offline 		My comment about guns was attached to the murder rate. It's quite obvious that the USA has a problem with violence, and that this violence is intricately linked to guns. Hijack: off.

< Message edited by kittinSol -- 2/29/2008 6:11:06 AM >

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RE: US is the world's #1 incarcerator - 2/29/2008 6:16:06 AM   
NorthernGent


Posts: 8730
Joined: 7/10/2006
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol

My comment about guns was attached to the murder rate. It's quite obvious that the USA has a problem with violence, and that this violence is intricately linked to guns. Hijack: off.



All countries have a problem with violence in one aspect or another.

They have a far higher murder rate than England, yet lower levels of other serious crimes such as armed robbery and a few others which I can't remember. I don't think you'll find the answer in guns. You'd have to study how the nations have developed politically, socially and culturally to understand why murder is more prevalent in the United States, but armed robbery is more prevalent in England.

_____________________________

I have the courage to be a coward - but not beyond my limits.

Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

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