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Thread: Quarter of world prison population in the USA

  1. #1

    Quarter of world prison population in the USA

    A quarter of all prisoners in the whole world are locked up in the United States, while the USA counts only 5% of the world’s population. In 2008 the USA had 7.3 million adults in prison or penitentiary supervision, about 1 out of 31, making it by far the highest in the world: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/201...oners-in-2013/
    The USA has (by far) the highest percentage of prisoners in the world.


    For some reason since 1980 the amount of prisoner in the USA exploded. Since 2008 (because of reducing population levels?) the amount of prisoners has gradually declined.


    The chance that - a black man in the USA ends up in jail, is: 32%, for Latino men: 17% and for white men: 6%. There are now more African American men in prison (or in provisional release) than black slaves in 1850 (the beginning of the civil war): http://www.globalresearch.ca/america...gal-system/885

    Of course I wouldn’t mind if only “real” criminals are put in prison, but I have the strange idea that if somebody breaks a law without a victim, this should not be punished too harshly. The writer of the following story has similar views: https://mic.com/articles/8558/why-we...ion#.C5X0CKTOV

    When I think about laws prohibiting drugs, I see this as a ploy to keep the prices high, while it makes it easy for a corrupt legal system to punish targeted individuals.
    More than 40 million arrests over the last 40 years were drug-related. In Texas, a person can be sentenced to two years in prison for possession of 4 grams of marijuana. In New York State even 15 years to life for possession of 4 grams of drugs.
    A large number of prisoners in the USA are victims of the Three Strikes law, giving an extra long imprisonment for a third conviction (usually 25 years to life). This leads to situations like life sentences for crimes such as stealing food.
    It gets even worse when people simply get arrested because they cannot afford repairs, so in turn violate state health laws: http://billmoyers.com/2013/12/16/lan...its-prisoners/
    Over here in the Netherlands I’ve heard a lot of homeless people telling me about being locked up because they cannot pay fines for “crimes” like sleeping outside...

    I’m probably not the only one to think that locking up completely innocent people is even worse than locking up “criminals” that don’t have the money to repair their septic system.
    According to the following story in the USA some 2.2 million people are actually locked up, of which around 2 million have never been to trial. Of all federal criminal cases, less than 3% went to trial; thanks to attorneys: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/due...eceived-trial/
    Samuel Gross estimated that 4.1% of the people who are sentenced to death are in fact innocent. Of course this means that for “normal” prisoners the rate of false convictions is even higher: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....s-do-the-math/

    An important question when investigating a crime is - motive.
    The prisoners in the USA are forced into slave labour for the company Unicor (if they do not work “voluntarily”, they are put in isolation cells). In 2012 they earned 23 cents per hour (I’ve computed that they make less than 500 dollars for 52, 40-hour work weeks).
    The US Department of Defense is the biggest “employer” for the prison slave labour; companies that use them include: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and TWA: http://www.alternet.org/story/151732...t_prison_labor

    While most people avoid being arrested, some activists think it’s smart to show for what ridiculous reasons you can be arrested.
    Feeding the hungry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDD6FtNMpNw
    Selling lemonade (for 10 cents): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocZFsQgbIjM
    Dancing in a public area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWeF6lwg4aY




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  3. #2
    Because drugs are bad, mmmm kay?
    There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
    -Major General Smedley Butler, USMC,
    Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Winner
    Author of, War is a Racket!

    It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours.
    - Diogenes of Sinope

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by jllundqu View Post
    Because drugs are bad, mmmm kay?
    Yeah, sort of looks to me like making them illegal hurts more people than the drugs would if they were legal.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr.3D View Post
    Yeah, sort of looks to me like making them illegal hurts more people than the drugs would if they were legal.
    What politicians don't understand is that when you take non-violent drug offenders and put the in pound-me-in-the-ass-prison.... they come out hardened criminals, for the most part (recidivism +/- 80%?). The more you lock up, the more crime and criminals you have inevitably created for the future, plus the family unit is destroyed leading to even more crime and more criminals and more recidivism... It's exponential! Why won't policy makers simply look at the data??
    There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
    -Major General Smedley Butler, USMC,
    Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Winner
    Author of, War is a Racket!

    It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours.
    - Diogenes of Sinope

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by jllundqu View Post
    What politicians don't understand is that when you take non-violent drug offenders and put the in pound-me-in-the-ass-prison.... they come out hardened criminals, for the most part (recidivism +/- 80%?). The more you lock up, the more crime and criminals you have inevitably created for the future, plus the family unit is destroyed leading to even more crime and more criminals and more recidivism... It's exponential! Why won't policy makers simply look at the data??
    Because they're getting rich.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by tod evans View Post
    Because they're getting rich.
    Yes, it would be interesting to see who of those so called policy makers, has economic interests in the prison system.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by jllundqu View Post
    What politicians don't understand is that when you take non-violent drug offenders and put the in pound-me-in-the-ass-prison.... they come out hardened criminals, for the most part (recidivism +/- 80%?). The more you lock up, the more crime and criminals you have inevitably created for the future, plus the family unit is destroyed leading to even more crime and more criminals and more recidivism... It's exponential! Why won't policy makers simply look at the data??
    The data shows we are screwing people too hard. What should we do?

  9. #8
    Once every last dollar can be extracted from the citizen the US will be an open prison.



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr.3D View Post
    Yes, it would be interesting to see who of those so called policy makers, has economic interests in the prison system.
    Don't forget all the axillary industries...

    These people aren't stupid, their interests are carefully crafted and buried under layers of legitimacy...

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by tod evans View Post
    Don't forget all the axillary industries...

    These people aren't stupid, their interests are carefully crafted and buried under layers of legitimacy...
    Maybe there should be an investigation into those layers to see how they all fit together. Maybe some of those folks would end up in prison themselves.

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr.3D View Post
    Maybe there should be an investigation into those layers to see how they all fit together. Maybe some of those folks would end up in prison themselves.
    Pfffffft!

    I just blew coffee all over my keyboard.

  14. #12
    It’s all so wonderful: the War by drugs is financed with taxes to keep the prices of drugs high. In this way those horrible drug addicts have no choice but to become petty thieves to pay for their habit.
    This in turn keeps us shouting for more law and order - Hail to the three strikes law!

    Fortunately those attorneys got their priorities straight by keeping all of these criminals from a jury of their peers (never mind that some innocent people get locked up for years or even end up on Death row).
    Then the prisons become ever more expensive, paid by the taxpayer.

    And then the kickbacks poor in, from the corporations - that in their best philanthropic disguise keep the prisons slaves busy for 25 cents per hour – to the politicians and lawyers that keep the belly of the beast filled…

  15. #13
    War on drugs is just war on citizens while big pharma peddles competing stuff that is more expensive with govt backing .
    Do something Danke

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    War on drugs is just war on citizens while big pharma peddles competing stuff that is more expensive with govt backing .
    Prison Population:


    Total Incarceration (prison+jail):


    Last edited by AZJoe; 02-18-2017 at 09:21 AM.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  17. #15
    ^^^^^^^^^^That's a hell of a return on the investment eh? ^^^^^^^^^^^

    And that's only the prison side of the mess, look at all the money made by the kops, the courts and the lawyers....Then the after prison money, parole, counseling, housing, training etc...

  18. #16
    Its even worse when you compare the total number serving sentences including prison, jail, probation and parole:

    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by timosman View Post
    The data shows we are screwing people too hard. What should we do?
    Obviously its not working. Probably just a lack of funding or effort. We need to double down. More laws. Require a permit for everything. Keep them in line. Outlaw the gateway activities. Double the number of crimes. Double the sentencing. Double the prisons. That's the ticket.
    Last edited by AZJoe; 02-18-2017 at 09:38 AM.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  21. #18
    Report from Libertarian News: Victimless crimes constitutes 86% of the federal prison population
    https://www.libertariannews.org/2011...on-population/
    http://www.andrewdstine.com/the-high...imless-crimes/
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  22. #19
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by AZJoe View Post
    I can only imagine what that number is going to be in a couple decades.
    "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."

    Calvin Coolidge

  24. #21
    China would probably be 10 times higher if not for the Organ Harvesting Progam, hell, how
    long are they in there when there are rich Japanese waiting to be top dollar for
    transplants.
    This is what I remember from a several year old report of the practice in Chinese prisons,
    the biggest market was wealthy Japanese..

  25. #22
    Drug laws are unconstitutional , end them and the prisons will go broke.



    Then Police Home invasions will have to shift into 3am raids for unpaid parking tickets.

  26. #23
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  27. #24
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by AZJoe View Post
    Prison Population:


    Total Incarceration (prison+jail):
    I wonder what the numbers were before Prohibition and the Massive increases in Police that accompanied it..

    Charts all start with the beginning of prohibition.. 1920-25
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  30. #26
    So much for the freest nation on earth.
    "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."

    Calvin Coolidge

  31. #27
    I note that @AZJoe is trying to keep this thread active...


    From 1995 to 2000, Richard Cheney was director of Halliburton and may have received deferred compensation and other benefits from Halliburton for a period of five years.
    In 2008, when Cheney was Vice President, the Vanguard Group, with 7.6 million shares worth about $176 million, was the 10th largest Halliburton shareholder. Halliburton was awarded a huge almost open-ended non-competitive-bid contract for work in Iraq, worth over $2 billion.
    Vanguard was/is also a huge owner in ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

    Vice President Cheney's disclosure statement showed that he had $18 to $87 million invested through Vanguard: http://www.populist.com/03.19.burns.html


    In November 2008, Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for neglecting federal prisoners and responsibility for abuses in the privately run prisons in Willacy County in South Texas.
    Guerra estimated Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group at $85 million (not blind!).
    The 3 top prison companies Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), GEO Group and Cornell, have the Vanguard Group as major shareholder in common.

    Guerra found out that in 2006 Cheney shut down the investigation into the killing of prison inmate Gregorio De La Rosa Jr. Guerra says Cheney stopped the investigation so that the value of his shares Vanguard would rise.
    Guerra was himself indicted by Marvin Mosbacker on behalf of the Bush administration for investigating a little too hard…
    The investigation was taken over by the FBI (where have I heard this before?). The assistant US attorney that was handling the investigation - Marvin Mosbacker: https://www.democracynow.org/2008/11...zales_indicted
    (archived here: http://archive.is/mKGNH)


    For some reason the Judge dismissed the case against Cheney and Gonzales, after a mere 2 weeks.
    Maybe Guerra should have invested in Vanguard; a two-page notice tacked to a bulletin board advertised the 6 January 2009 foreclosure sale of his home: http://www.raymondville-chronicle.co.../news/019.html
    (archived here: http://archive.is/TnVdy)


    For more information on the biggest investment funds in the world: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...eet-own-the-US
    Last edited by Firestarter; 04-15-2019 at 08:21 AM.
    Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3

    The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty

  32. #28
    I hear what you all are saying. Let me point out something: In more primitive civilizations where there is very little law, there is nobody there to actually prosecute the criminal. In a lot of situations the criminal has to make restitution for what he stole. If the crime is more serious, likely they would be beaten, or even executed. There is no such thing as prison.

    In other cases, religious leaders would prosecute the crime and then mete out punishment.
    #NashvilleStrong

    “I’m a doctor. That’s a baby.”~~~Dr. Manny Sethi

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by euphemia View Post
    I hear what you all are saying. Let me point out something: In more primitive civilizations where there is very little law, there is nobody there to actually prosecute the criminal.
    In our "civilised" Brave new world, crooked laywers (possibly the judges are even worse than attorneys) defend the big criminals (like Clinton and Trump's buddy Jeffrey Epstein), while the petty thieves are locked up in prison to be forced to slave labour.

    And while the really, really big criminal, money laundering, drug trafficking crooks have an above average chance to become president (just like mass murderers have statistically speaking the highest chance of winning the Nobel Prize for peace), the biggest criminals of all call themselves Kings and Queens and dictate their crooked lawyers to make them immune from prosecution!

    I don't have a clue what you're babbling about...
    Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3

    The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty

  34. #30
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