Comments on: America Behind Bars

By: Sukie

Sukie — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:21:04 +0000

This article doesn’t even take into consideration the outrageous costs billed to parolees and probationers following their release, or even those only sentenced to probation, all to justify the jobs of the probation department and correctional departments. First offenders are often fined heavily and assessed court costs. Whatever happened to the idea everyone gets one mistake? The most minor crimes by first offenders are being prosecuted to the fullest extent possible, all to justify the jobs of the judiciary, the court system, etc. etc. I’m a person who does not believe drug users should be imprisoned, but treated. I’m ashamed of our system. Land of the free, harumph.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:46:42 +0000

Great article. The racial disparities in incarceration rates are sickening.

I have a real problem with private companies being involved in running prisons. the only way for that to be a growth industry for them is to keep individual prisoners in their longer and to increase the number of prisoners. Oh, and to cut corners, of course. There are many areas where making a profit does not work in anyone’s favor except for the companies, and this is definitely one of them.

By: george a. hutton

george a. hutton — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:14:48 +0000

Good morning all,

When a person (male or female, white, black,brown or red) does a crime,
they KNOW what they do is wrong. Period! Simple, if you can’t do the time,
then don’t do the crime. Jail is made too easy. Road gangs, jail farms to
grow their own food, work not tv, movies & work out rooms is the answer.
Those that ar MR or MH – give the help but those who think it is easy to just
rob, than work, well they need a huge attitude change. Those the rape
(childred or anyone) need to be put to death, period. Same goes for those
the kill (no matter how it was done, crashed your car into another car &
someone died. You were drunk!. No problem – death – now for you.)
Till you make it hurt the bad person, he/she will keep on. Otherwise you
are in a world far far far away from this one. Decent, honor, do unto others
as you want them to do unto you is our way then expect child rape or a Gov
enor purchase sex ’cause he is rich & got away with it. Or have a President
of the USA LIE and got away with it. Till justice is done, what you have will
be the rule not the execption.
peace,
George

By: Being Amber Rhea » Blog Archive » links for 2008-03-12

Being Amber Rhea » Blog Archive » links for 2008-03-12 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:24:19 +0000

[...] Feministe » America Behind Bars “If tax payers are unhappy, if imprisonment doesn’t deter crime all that effectively, and if this is costing a ridiculous amount of money that could be better spent elsewhere, why are we expanding this system?” (tags: prison incarceration law crime america) [...]

By: Acanthus

Acanthus — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:39:53 +0000

And I might add, the study defines “admission” as incarceration in a state prison only. It looks at what happens to blacks as opposed to whites after they have been arrested, charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced on drug charged.

By: Acanthus

Acanthus — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:33:36 +0000

The study only looked at black/white rates, per 100,000.

By: jamesPi

jamesPi — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:52:39 +0000

thanks acan,
I’m originally from cumberland county maine, hard to belive its about 250k now, the numbers from the 2000 census show 1.06% black and 1.40% asian, did the study have asian incarceration info? the admission rates are per/1000 right?

By: jamesPi

jamesPi — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:48:44 +0000

mike, i got what youre saying but im not sure any stats fully encapsulate what happens after arrest as there are just a ton of possibilities and the reporting of what happens after an arrest is often flawed. if we are to really mostly look only at what happens after arrest, because what happens before it is too complicated, id still like to see it only from the economic side or at the very least see the process and stats for each step compared between majority white vs majority minority areas, say eastern washington state vs the miss delta.

ill never be able to fully internalize why the arrest and incarceration rates in the poorest county in maine (which puts it among the poorest counties in the country) are so much lower than the poorest counties here in georgia.

By: GallingGalla aka RachelPhilPa

GallingGalla aka RachelPhilPa — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:24:45 +0000

CCA, aka ~~Whack-n-Fuck~~Wackenhut, is gleefully reaping the profits of destroying the lives of disadvantaged people. Capitalism has reached the point that people themselves are now just raw material for the corporate money machine.

CCA and its pals in the prison-industrial complex hav a very powerful incentive to support / encourage / foment anything that increases their supply of human fodder, including the development of a totalitarian police state. They’d be very happy to see the last faint traces of democracy that we have now, fade completely. They’d be very happy to build concentration camps for dissidents, queer and trans people, Jews, etc. They’d be very happy to build mass-killing chambers – it’s just a matter of the fascists in government paying them enough to make up for the loss of long-term income they’d get by keeping the human fodder alive (and yes, I realize I’m invoking Godwin’s Law, but CCA and their ilk are the face of fascism). The CCA execs don’t think of prisoners even as animals – they think of them as meat.

Unless we rein in these companies and tear down the prison-industrial complex, and soon, I will fear greatly for this country, even if the Democrats regain power – they are just as beholden to the CCA gang as the rethuglicans.

By: Acanthus

Acanthus — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:37:02 +0000

One more:

Utah County, UT- 1.6% black population
Overall- 36.77
White- 33.32
Black- 251.64