Why does the USA have so many people in jail?

I'm not an administrator... but this definitely is well below the maturity level we expect around here. (I think at least!)(Added by edit: I apologize if my humor detector is broken today and I took this the wrong way)This message has been edited by SuperNintendo Chalmers, 04-10-2006 09:14 PM

No problem dude... My humor detector usually works... but it was broken yesterday !

Edit: Delted, posted to wrong threadThis message has been edited by SuperNintendo Chalmers, 04-11-2006 12:47 PM

A huge percentage of people are in jail for non-violent drug offenses.Each person in jail does not pay taxes. In addition we also have to pay $50,000+ a year per prisoner to keep them there.Once people enter jail they lose all their rights and are subjected to beatings, rape, etc. Many non-violent petty criminals come out of jail as major violent criminals because of what happens there.Our criminal justice system is a joke. It's a HUGE cost to taxpayers and does virtually nothing to reduce crime

I don't know if this has been stated, but any illegal alien arrested committing a crime here should be immediately deported. Why should my tax dollars go to housing (at 50,000+ a year) illegal aliens in jail.Let's leave aside the issue of arresting illegals for being here illegally for now...... I'm talking about illegals who are arrested for other crimes (theft, murder, etc)

EZScience has nailed it. The reason there are so many people in jail is the war on drugs... Easily the least successful and least intelligent domestic policy in modern history. We spend ridiculous amounts of money on this so-called war.... yet drugs are still readily available (in fact, I can easily get marijuana for far less than I pay for alcohol and I haven't used the stuff in years!)It's funny, in Europe they treat drug use as a health issue instead of criminal issue and they have had FAR better results in reducing drug use (at least for hard drugs). I can find the studies if anyone is interested.So basically we are spending billions a year to take non-criminals and non-violent criminals and throw them in jail where they can turn into hardended violent criminals.Not only does the drug war fill up our prisons... it INCREASES violent crime.In any case, I want to know what business the government has telling me what plants I can grow in my yard for my own personal use?

I'm not in support of ridiculous farm subsidies either.Probably because I'm far from a socialist. I'm a liberal libretarian.

Believe it or not this is very true. The prison building lobby combined with the prison guards union is quite powerful

I'm pretty sure the giant "dead zone" at the mouth of the mississippi in the gulf of mexico is the result of agricultural pollution