The Crisis in Prisons

Imprisonment in this country, whether it is called immigration detention or criminal incarceration, has clearly reached crisis proportions as I’ve pointed out in previous posts. The link below provides similarly troubling information on criminal incarceration pursuant to the “war on drugs,” which the U.S. has waged against its citizens since it was declared some twenty years ago by President George H.W. Bush.

Today, one in every 100 adult Americans is in prison for a criminal offense. We finance a criminal incarceration and immigration detention system that our country cannot afford and have moved further and further away from rehabilitation for those with drug addictions. There are also very disturbing racial disparities in the criminal system which are also apparent in the immigration deportation process. More than 60% of the prison population are from racial and ethnic minorities. One in every 36 Hispanic adults and one in every 15 black adults are in prison. See, http://restorefairness.org/2010/03/want-to-know-whats-wrong-with-the-war-on-drugs/.