American Prison Overpopulation Issues

Overcrowding in American prisons is a controversial and urgent problem.

Overcrowding in federal and state U.S. prisons has become a serious problem. Not only are prisons operating at full or overflow capacity, but the American taxpayer is spending more on incarceration than ever before.

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Since the 1980s, there has been a lot of pressure at both the federal and state level to jail drug offenders. The Sentencing Reform Act, passed by Congress in 1984, not only removed the possibility of parole for federal prisoners but also set forth a number of guidelines regarding mandatory minimum sentences. These guidelines have been criticized for their severity and inflexibility, as well as for mandating prison sentences without taking into account the defendant's past record, personal characteristics or the level of violence involved in the crime itself.

The Prison Industry

Also known as the prison industrial complex, the prison industry refers to the lucrative system of privatized prisons that have expanded since the early 1980s. Prisoners are contracted out as cheap labor. Many of the wealthy investors that contribute to the prison complex are the same ones that take advantage of the inexpensive contracts.

Solutions

About half of the prison population consists of nonviolent offenders. They can pay their debt to society without being a danger to it. There are a number of options to punish or confine these offenders in ways that do not include jail time. These more economical options include community service, supervision, house arrest or mandatory counseling.

References

• The Cato Institute: Prison Blues: How America's Foolish Sentencing Policies Endanger Public Safety
• National Institute of Corrections: Prison Alternatives: Crowded Federal Prisons Can Transfer More Inmates to Halfway Houses
• The Washington Post: New High In U.S. Prison Numbers
• Global Research: The Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery?

Resources

• Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Department of Justice: Largest Increase in Prison and Jail Inmate Populations Since Midyear 2000