Face the Facts USA –
FACT: The United States incarcerates a higher percentage of its people than any country in the world. The U.S. makes up 5 percent of the world’s population but accounts for 25 percent of its prisoners. We had 1.6 million inmates behind bars, federal and state, in 2010 — more than the population of Idaho. One of every 104 American adults is locked up. Nearly every state has increased sentences since 1990. Time served for drug offenses was up 36 percent; for violent crimes, 37 percent. Annual spending on state and federal prisoners is about $60 billion.
