5% of the world’s population is composed of people living in the United States. This same country accounts for 25% of the world’s prison population (Della Costa) and currently contains more prisons and jails than it does colleges and universities (Ingraham). Individuals are being funneled into the corrections system at very high rates due to crimes varying from theft, to drug charges, to murder. These people, if their sentences are shorter than their lives, and they are able to leave prison, are often being released only to be in the same spot that they were only months earlier. Many, if not most, inmates end up in situations that are eerily similar to those that caused the previous criminal activity. By the time these inmates are released, they have nothing to return to but the very activities that led to their incarceration in the first place. This is often the case for the millions of people in the correctional system. Once an inmate enters the correctional system, they cannot easily leave it (not necessarily in terms of release, which is hard enough on its own, but in terms of returning to a happy life as a functional member of society).
"60 percent of inmates released from prison find themselves back behind bars within three years" (The Week)
The US prison system is a huge one, currently holding over 2.2 million Americans in all(Godard), and it is not a cheap one. It can cost up to a staggering $60,000 to house each and every one of the over 2.2 million offenders, providing their meals, their medication, etc (Godard). With this much money being spent to take care of the inmates alone (not taking into consideration the costs of maintaining the correctional facilities, paying correctional officers, etc.) one would expect a significant return, and there is one. This return, however, is only on the side of private corrections corporations (a hefty $7.4 Billion a year). U.S. taxpayers are paying to house these prisoners, and getting little in return. There are no logical benefits in this.
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The average cost of incarcerating each inmate per state.
Taken from: https://smartasset.com/insights/the-economics-of-the-american-prison-system |