1 in 100 American Adults in Prison
As a cultural marker of the sad state of our nation, more than 1 in 100 American Adults are incarcerated. That places America at the top of the heap in the world in terms of imprisoned adults per capita.
We're number one.
...saw that on TV last night
...???congratulations???
...other stats
...1 of 36 adult Hispanic males
...1 of 15 adult African-American males
...things have got to change
...where are the churches in helping to decrease these stats
...Senator O is needed more than ever!
Posted by: Wes | February 29, 2008 at 10:13 AM
What a glass is half empty mindset. Turn that around and this means that our country is safer than any other nation in the world because we have a police force that is on the job putting criminals in jail. You want to turn that statistic around that means you want less police force presence in your neighborhood and more rampant criminal activity in your neighborhood.
All kidding aside, as sad as this statistic may be, if your a criminal you much prefer American imprisonment to any other place in the world. It might be crowded but you know your gonna be well fed.
How might the church respond in such a way as to decrease the statistic? Be present in the lives of those that statistically are more at risk to fall into a life of crime. So keep our urban ministry sites open alive and well. Encourage the faithful to insert themselves in the lives of these urban ministries with presence, prayers and finances.
If you want to be in ministry to the inmates there are several great ministries that are making strides into the lives of men and women who are incarcerated like Kairos(www.kairosprisonministry.org). Just google Prison Ministry if you want more.
Not sure, nor confident, that a Presidential Candidate is going to have an iota of impact on decreasing prison population. But I respect your right to stump. Vote Independent! Its the only way to have a truly free country!
Posted by: John D. Palmer | March 03, 2008 at 09:45 AM
America isn't safer from the crooked prosecutors who ruin innocent lives. How many of these inmates even broke the law?
We need to stop this facile statistical reasoning and return to principles of fairness. Is it fair to incarcerate people for ten, fifteen, twenty years for petty offenses? No it isn't, and the end result of gulagism is a large population of people who despise the law.
Posted by: ridiculous | May 18, 2008 at 11:14 AM
When unemployment rises again-- and it will-- crime rates will go up. When that happens where will you put the criminals? You've already filled all of the bunks with people who don't belong there.
Posted by: ridiculous | May 18, 2008 at 11:15 AM