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  • With an estimated 2.4 million people behind bars, the United States reportedly incarcerates

  • more people than any other country.

  • According to a recent supreme court ruling, overcrowding is creating unsafe, unsanitary, violent condition

  • Medical and mental healthcare has been compromised

  • So how do we get here? Why are so many U.S. citizens in prison?

  • Within the last 40 years, the prison population in the U.S. has risen by 700 percent.

  • This is largely due to changes made in drug sentencing laws that started in the 1970s. The zero-

  • tolerance narcotic policies resulted in a dramatic increase in prison numbers. Nearly half of

  • federal inmates and 16 percent of state inmates are locked-up on drug-related charges.

  • Long sentences and mandatory minimums are also a factor. Many states have variations

  • on thethree-strikeslaw, where repeat offenders automatically receive life sentences

  • for their third felony. Rules have stayed in place despite studies showing that longer prison sentences

  • and higher incarceration rates have little effect on reducing crime.

  • These policies disproportionately affect minorities. According to the NAACP about 58% of

  • the male prison population is made up of African Americans and Hispanics,yet these

  • minorities make up only a quarter of the American population. Racial minorities are more likely

  • to be arrested and convicted and once convicted they often face harsher sentencing than their

  • white counterparts. (21)

  • A more recent development affecting prison overcrowding has been the growing number of

  • privatised institutions. For-profit companies now run many prisons in the U.S. These companies

  • are typically contracted by the government on the strength of affirmations that they will uphold

  • the rights and welfare of inmates, all while saving taxpayers money.

  • However, a 2013 report from anti-privatisation group, In the Public Interest, recently

  • investigated these prison contracts. Out of a total of 62 contracts, more than half (41)

  • had quotas stating that prisons must have 80 - 100 percent occupancy at all times. If the state

  • and local governments fail to meet the quota they often pay thousands, sometimes millions

  • in taxpayer money, for unused beds. Which means it’s in the state’s interest to keep prisons full

  • regardless of whether or not crime rates are falling.

  • According to the report, Louisiana, for example, is locked into prison contracts with some

  • of the highest occupancy quotas in the country, earning the nickname of theworld’s prison

  • capital.” It’s reported they have an incarceration rate nearly five times Iran's and 13 times

  • China's. This is partially because in addition to private companies, Louisiana sheriffs are

  • reportedly also profiting off of prisoners.

  • In the early 1990s the state encouraged sheriffs to build more local jails in order to reduce

  • overcrowding, in return they would receive cash incentives. Now, according to The Times-

  • Picayune (pick-ah-YUNE) there are more inmates in local jails than in state prisons despite the

  • fact that the state offers better re-entry programs.

  • Overcrowding has been exacerbated by the lack of a nationwide mental illness support

  • system. The deinstitutionalization of mental health care in the 60s and 70s, left many patients

  • with no where to go. Now more than half of the prison population is made of those with

  • a history of mental health problems.

  • Most experts agree that major prison reforms are needed on a state and national level,

  • and programs like theSmart Crime Initiativehave attempted to rebalance drug sentencing laws.

  • But as long as prisons are still working on a for-profit model, companies and states will benefit

  • from arresting and detaining US citizens.

  • Although it’s different in every state, the death penalty is still a hotly debated issue

  • Check this video out from our friends at DNews to learn more about the debate. And be

  • Another centerpiece of 216 page report is discussion about executing the innocents, you know, just casual dinner chatter.

  • And be sure to subscribe. We release new videos 6 days a week. Thanks for watching.

With an estimated 2.4 million people behind bars, the United States reportedly incarcerates

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