US/Prison
![]() (Prison) ![]() ![]() | |
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![]() OECD incarceration rates per 100,000 citizens, by International Centre for Prison Studies | |
US prisons lock up far more people than any other country, both proportionally and in absolute numbers.[1]
Contents
Growth
The number of people imprisoned under state and federal custody increased 772% percent between 1970 and 2009, largely due to the incredible influence private corporations wield against the American legal system.[2]
War on Drugs
- Full article:
“War on Drugs”
- Full article:
The singular position of the self-styled 'land of the free' deserves special mention in an article on prisons, since it has lead the global "war on drugs", which has been a boon to the private prison industry.
Suicide
Suicide is one of the biggest causes of death in U.S. jails and hit a high of 50 deaths for every 100,000 inmates in 2014.[3]
Life sentences
In 2012, almost 160,000 US prisoners were serving life sentences. Of these, 49,000 are serving life without possibility of parole, an increase of 22% since 2008. The ACLU reported that over 3000 of these were for minor, non-violent crimes, for example theft of a jacket valued at $159. The reports wrote that the US was “virtually alone in its willingness to sentence non-violent offenders to die behind bars.” Life without parole for nonviolent sentences has been ruled a violation of human rights by the European Court of Human Rights.[4]
Strip searches
In 2019 "An 8-year-old girl was stripped naked and searched by Virginia Department of Corrections staff after she was led to believe refusal would result in not being allowed to see her father".[5]
Torture
US prisoners have reported being tortured to the point of unconsciousness by guards.[6][7]
Related Document
Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Document:Private Prisons Criminalized Rap | Letter, E-Mail | 24 April 2012 | Unknown |
References
- ↑ http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-30/american-dream-part-4-deep-state-now-charge
- ↑ Document:The Economics of Incarceration
- ↑ https://www.mintpressnews.com/conspiracy-theories-jeffrey-epstein-death/261328/
- ↑ http://www.projectcensored.org/23-number-us-prison-inmates-serving-life-sentences-hits-new-record/
- ↑ https://www.pilotonline.com/government/virginia/vp-nw-strip-search-20191206-wd2ejtrtqfgbvkbj7xzh7btemu-story.html
- ↑ http://www.policestateusa.com/2015/ny-manhunt-prison-torture/
- ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/11/us/new-york-prison-escape-inmate-abuse-complaints/