“Be not ashamed of mistakes

                And thus make them crimes.”

              Confucius Chinese philosopher & reformer

               (551 BC-479 BC)

Putting Things Into Context

(Stats)

General Population

U.S. 298,255,159
World 6,502,060,675
02:49 GMT (EST+5) Mar 08, 2006

Prison/Industrial Complex

The prison/industrial complex consists of construction, local vendors and prison staff with prisoners the raw material.  The criminal justice industry is a serious political player.  Its 2.3 million members include: highway patrol officers, sheriffs and deputies, district attorneys and prison and jail guards (747,000).  Add law enforcement's natural allies _ prison construction firms, police equipment manufacturers, and victims' rights groups _ and you have a lobbying force capable of advancing legislation that maximizes sentencing and incarceration.

The Politics of Indigence

violent crime remains rampant

poorest neighborhoods

intergenerational cycle of crime,

imprisonment,

release and reimprisonment

2 million Inmates+ Juvs +Jails + workcamps + work release + parole:

 Equals about 13 million

The Costs Of Incarceration

Penal Perspectives

Aod 25 February 2006

The Nation

Between 1982 and 2001

Arrests in the United States increased by 13%

Number of inmates in federal and state prisons surged 228%.

Americans who have served time for a felony conviction

13 million

Population

U.S. contains 4% of the world's population,

AND houses one-quarter of all the imprisoned people on Earth.

Incarceration costs

Correspondingly exploded.

Twenty years ago, the nation annually spent $36 billion

on police, courts and incarceration.

Today, it's $167 billion.

Total Number of Americans in prison, Jail, on probation or on parole

1970                            1980                            2002

400,000                       1.8 Million                    6.7 Million

Prison Demographics

40% Black

(1 in 3 black males born today will do time in state prison)

70% w/o GED

There are currently 7 Million children with an incarcerated parent

(five times more likely to be incarcerated than

kids whose parents have not been imprisoned)

(Short Story)

Nr of Facilities  Nr of Inmates                           Cost Per Day  

Florida             128                              87,000                                     Adult Male-$40.92

                                                                                                            Private Inst- $55.39

Male Youthful Offender-$57.97

Adult/YO Female-$62.10

                                                                                                            Specialty Inst- $55.63

                                                                                    Reception Ctrs-$85.57

Texas               105/122                       150,000/350,000                     $44.

California          33                                307,228                                   Per Inmate- $93.56// $34,150/yr

                                                                                                            Per Parolee-$11.14// $4,067/yr

Totals:

3 States                                                544,228 Inmates   (@half million)

Dept of Corrections Annual Budget:

California          7.5-8 Billion

Texas               Not Talking

Florida             1 Billion