The number of people in US prisons is over 2.2 million--this is more than the populations of Rhode Island and Maine put together (and less than Iowa with a 2006 population of 2.9 million). We also have more prisoners than any other country in the world.
The Justice Department reported on Wednesday that the nation's prison and jail populations increased by more than 62,000 inmates, or 2.8 percent, to about 2,245,000 inmates in the 12-month period that ended on June 30, 2006. It was the biggest jump in numbers and percentage change in six years.
According to the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College in London, the United States has long had the world's largest prison population, followed by China at 1.5 million and Russia at 885,670.
Criminal justice experts have attributed the record U.S. prison population to tough sentencing laws, record numbers of drug offenders and high crimes rates. It failed to mention the incarcerations of people for political reasons here and elsewhere.
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