Ten Things You Should Know About Prisons in the US
There are approximately 2 million people in U.S. prisons and jails today, and 5.7 million people under state supervision.
The incarceration rate in the U.S. is 725 for every 100,000 - the highest in the world. One in every 130 people will serve time at some point in their lives.
One out of every three
African American men in the U.S. will serve time in prison in their lifetimes.
Thenumber of women serving time in state and federal prisons has increased 92% in the last 10 years.
The U.S. currently cages more people of colour per capita than any other nation.
It costs more to send a person to prison for a year than to Harvard University for a year.
The prison system is not filled with violent and dangerous people; the majority of people are being sent to prison for drug charges and acts which involve no violence whatsoever.
Private corporations such as Eddie Bauer and Microsoft employ prison slave labour. Prisoners are forbidden by law to unionise or strike; they are not protected by minimum wage laws or the Fair Labor Standards Act; they cannot voice complaints or even refuse to work without receiving severe retaliation.
Conditions in U.S. prisons have been repeatedly condemned by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for violating the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Health Care for prisoners is practically non-existent. It is common practice for prisoners to be denied medical examinations and treatments.