Today a total of over 2.3 million, or one in every 99.1 American adults find themselves in county jails and state and federal prisons. There has never been a time in the history of the US that so many Americans have found themselves locked up. Indeed, the US has now set the world record for incarceration. Both in total numbers and on a per capita basis, no country in the world imprisons so many of its citizens.
The dollars spent each year on prisons is mind boggling. On average each prisoner costs the US taxpayer $23,876 per year. California alone spends $8 billion dollars a year on its prison system. Increasingly, corrections has taken a precedence to education. And over the past 20 years in the US as a whole, the rate of increase for prison costs has been six times greater than for higher education spending. Today, four states- Vermont, Michigan, Oregon and Connecticut, spend more on corrections than they do on higher education.
Much of the reason for the increased prison population is the creation of mandatory minimums enforced in drug related offences. When handing down a sentence based on mandatory minimum laws, today it is not entirely uncommon for the Judge to admit that the sentence is unjust. However, bound by the laws passed by Congress, in most cases the Judge is left with no choice but to apply a sentence that he himself views as unfair and unwarranted.
In 2006 when DeJarion Echols was sentenced for possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of crack cocaine, mandatory minimum laws required a sentence of 120 months. (Alarmingly, Echols was found to be in possession of just 44 grams of crack cocaine, but was held accountable for 500 grams due to cash found at the scene, which the federal government equated with possession of an additional 450 grams).
As an unloaded gun was found in the same residence as the drugs, despite the fact that there was no evidence that the weapon was used in connection with any drug deals, the mandatory minimum laws again required a sentence of 10 years. Before reluctantly sentencing Echols to 20 years in federal prison, U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. made the following statement: "This is one of those situations where I'd like to see a congressman sitting before me."
The U.S. also competes for the title of country with the most instances of capital punishment. In 2006, only Pakistan, Iraq, China, Iran and Sudan sentenced more of its citizens to death.
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About the Author
Jonathan Richards is a former federal prison inmate. His report about surviving Federal Prison is available at www.Federal-Prison.org.
