Scary Stats - 7.3 Million Americans in the U.S. Correction System

You guys got way more people in jail than Norway has in general population, pretty crazy.

maybe because america believes in TRUE JUSTICE? unlike you liberal pussies in yurope, we believe that you can't do the time, don't do the crime. for example: 

 Still in high school, Chance was 18 years old when he was arrested on drug possession charges. He was repeatedly raped, targeted in part because of his youth. Chance's struggles with homelessness, drug addiction, and mental health show how the devastation of sexual assault continues for years after survivors are released from detention.    

Bryson (formerly Kendell) 1963-2010, was raped by more than 25 other inmates over the course of nine months during his incarceration at an Arkansas state prison. He contracted HIV as a result of the attacks. Although he repeatedly reported the attacks, prison officials failed to provide Mr. Martel, who weighed only 123 pounds at the time, a safe housing environment. He lived in Michigan.

Powell, 48, died May 20, 2009, after being kept in a human cage in Goodyear's Perryville Prison for at least four hours in the blazing Arizona sun. This, despite a prison policy limiting such outside confinement to a maximum of two hours.

The county medical examiner found the cause of death to be due to complications from heat exposure. Her core body temperature upon examination was 108 degrees Fahrenheit. She suffered burns and blisters all over her body.

Witnesses say she was repeatedly denied water by corrections officers, though the c.o.'s deny this. The weather the day she collapsed from the heat (May 19 -- she died in the early morning hours of May 20) arched just above a 107 degree high.

According to a 3,000 page report released by the ADC, she pleaded to be taken back inside, but was ignored. Similarly, she was not allowed to use the restroom. When she was found unconscious, her body was covered with excrement from soiling herself.

Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime  
 
Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates.

" @TaliciaDragonsong said:

" I know too many criminals or duders with a bad habit of acting like criminals around here, but that's not america.  I say shoot em, make the world a happier place. "

Hells yeah! Fuck proportionality! Any notion of fairness can go eat a dick! Retributive justice? Not in MY AMERICA!  "

Ship them off to Australia like the Britsh did =P 
 
People should be asking themselves why the US has such a high crime rate compared to the rest of the developed world.

7.3 Million in jail. 6 million on marijuana charges. (Well, maybe less than that... but still a hell of a lot)

Nobody gets put into jail by the secret police in the USA, It's not like there's a Stalin like figure that sends the NKVD to your house for no reason and sends you to prison. If you haven't done anything wrong you can sleep relatively safe at night.....amirite? No? no?.........

" Ship them off to Australia like the Britsh did =P  People should be asking themselves why the US has such a high crime rate compared to the rest of the developed world. "

That's because your so called "Justice" system doesn't work.

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

You can get away with alot in the US. If we lived in North Korea where your entire family would be killed if you did something wrong, then we wouldn't have much crime at all. I don't plan on going to jail and I like to think Im smart enough to keep myself fairly safe so it really doesn't concern me.  
 
Also, you need to factor in how many of those people are in for minor things. 

" Nobody gets put into jail by the secret police in the USA, It's not like there's a Stalin like figure that sends the NKVD to your house for no reason and sends you to prison. If you haven't done anything wrong you can sleep relatively safe at night.....amirite? No? no?......... "

" @l4wd0g said:

" @RsistncE said:

" @l4wd0g said:

IThe Charles Manson thing I was just throwing that subject out there for discussion. "

The death penalty should never be used in any civilized nation. Why? We already know there have been innocent people MURDERED by the state (further supported by members of the public). Therefore by death penalty standards, anyone who helped in the murder of those innocents should also be put to death. The death penalty is paradoxical and completely nonsensical because the fact also remains that it hasn't decreased crime rates at all. Additionally, the death penalty only further propagates the problem that many modern day legal systems are just euphemistic forms of vengeance. I'm sorry, but we should be addressing the root of the problem and that is: Why are these crimes being committed in the first place and how can we prevent them from occurring? "

Umm... I don't know if I should touch this or not.   Ehh screw it.   So, if i believe in the death penalty I'm uncivilized? That seems to be what your first sentence is saying.   There is a difference between killing and murder. Murder is unlawful killing of a person.  Killing is to deprive someone of life. Killing is also considered to be lawful.  Soldiers who die in combat are killed. Diseases kill. Murderers murder. Make sense?   Yes, I'm sure the system has put innocent people to death. It's unfortunate. However, they still went through due process and multiple appeals.   The death penalty is a deterrent for rational people. However, not everyone is rational when the commit a crime worthy of the death penalty.  The potential for negative consequences deters some behavior. The possibility of being executed does not contradict this.    Why are crimes being committed? Simple answer is that we're human.  We're not perfect. We're selfish. We give ourselves completely over to lust, greed, sloth, gluttony, wraith, envy, and the most damning,  pride. Sometimes those things will damn us and destroy our lives.  If you're relgious or not, it doesn't matter, when something completely consumes you, you are lost. "

I never said you're uncivilized for believing in the death penalty. You're making an unfounded extension out of my first claim. Of course I can't blame you for making such a connection; the death penalty is pretty damn fucking archaic. I understand the difference between murder and killing. What I'm telling you is that we know there have been MANY people who were put to death who were innocent. That is murder committed by the state and by the public that supported the sentence. By extension the state and the people who supported the sentence should also now be put to death. The punishment should fit the crime according to many people here. It's funny how right Gandhi was: "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind."  You've made a massive error by lumping crimes into rational and irrational. Crimes that can't be prevented are usually ones such as crimes of passion or compulsion. These crimes as you pointed out can't be prevented so the death penalty is useless here. Other crimes - typically those associated with financial gain - CAN be prevented but not by instigating the death penalty. Notice that the vast majority of crimes are committed by those living in low income situations who also come from low income backgrounds. It's the poor that commit most crimes in this category. This is where the problem stems from, the fact that there are far too many individuals who are living in low income situations. The death penalty won't ever stop these crimes from being committed as is evidence further by the numbers.  Murder rates (per capita) are higher in death penalty states than in non-death penalty states (in the US). Yeah, I know that this in and of itself can't be used to say outright that the death penalty leads to an increase in murders, after all, correlation doesn't equal causation and there could be lurking variables. I mean who knows, maybe it's the heat in Texas or maybe people are just really stupid there, BUT, one would reasonably expect that if the death penalty was working as a deterrent in these states that the murder rates would be dropping over the long term...and they are, but no faster than rates are dropping in the non-death penalty states. Hell, in some cases they're even dropping slower than in non-death penalty states.  That last bit about humans no being perfect reeks of religion and religion has no place in the decision making processes that decide the fate of human lives, so I'm not going to address it at this point. Correct me if I'm wrong of course.  At the end of the day if you are willing to support the death penalty then you are willingly admitting that you believe it is OK to kill a human being (outside of situations where your life is immediately threatened). This statement alone opens up a huge moral quagmire, one that would swallow the entire death penalty debate with ease. "

The death penalty should never be used in any civilized nation 

What I'm telling you is that we know there have been MANY people who were put to death who were innocent.

 You've made a massive error by lumping crimes into rational and irrational. Crimes that can't be prevented are usually ones such as crimes of passion or compulsion. These crimes as you pointed out can't be prevented so the death penalty is useless here. Other crimes - typically those associated with financial gain - CAN be prevented but not by instigating the death penalty.

This is where the problem stems from, the fact that there are far too many individuals who are living in low income situations. The death penalty won't ever stop these crimes from being committed as is evidence further by the numbers.

Murder rates (per capita) are higher in death penalty states than in non-death penalty states (in the US). Yeah, I know that this in and of itself can't be used to say outright that the death penalty leads to an increase in murders, after all, correlation doesn't equal causation and there could be lurking variables. 

 Yeah, I know that this in and of itself can't be used to say outright that the death penalty leads to an increase in murders, after all, correlation doesn't equal causation and there could be lurking variables. I mean who knows, maybe it's the heat in Texas or maybe people are just really stupid there, BUT, one would reasonably expect that if the death penalty was working as a deterrent in these states that the murder rates would be dropping over the long term...and they are, but no faster than rates are dropping in the non-death penalty states.

 That last bit about humans no being perfect reeks of religion and religion has no place in the decision making processes that decide the fate of human lives, so I'm not going to address it at this point. Correct me if I'm wrong of course. 

" And 99% of people are religious in US jails.      Hides. "

" @ryanwho said:

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

 Personally, I believe crippling offenders would be more effective. Take a violent offenders strength (severing all ligaments and such). Take a fraudulent offenders voice and finger dexterity. Castrate sexual offenders. Not permanently of course. Just for as long as fits the crime. Not take away their freedom, but their means of doing again, what they did wrong.  On top of that, I'd strip them of the protection of the laws they broke. A murder on a convicted murderer isn't against the law, because the offender broke that law and is no longer protected by it. Let them face the horror and terror of the general population knowing what they did, without being 'safe and comfy' behind prison walls.  Those worthy of redemption will find it in the general populus. Monsters however will perish. One way or another. The only way to survive such a situation is to ask for help. "

" @Chabbs0 said:

" And 99% of people are religious in US jails.      Hides. "

The vast majority of people are religious. "

" @Seppli said:

" @ryanwho said:

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

 Personally, I believe crippling offenders would be more effective. Take a violent offenders strength (severing all ligaments and such). Take a fraudulent offenders voice and finger dexterity. Castrate sexual offenders. Not permanently of course. Just for as long as fits the crime. Not take away their freedom, but their means of doing again, what they did wrong.  On top of that, I'd strip them of the protection of the laws they broke. A murder on a convicted murderer isn't against the law, because the offender broke that law and is no longer protected by it. Let them face the horror and terror of the general population knowing what they did, without being 'safe and comfy' behind prison walls.  Those worthy of redemption will find it in the general populus. Monsters however will perish. One way or another. The only way to survive such a situation is to ask for help. "

HAHAHahahahahahHAAHHAHAHhaah.  Oh my god.  This thread is killing me.  I can't believe you people make up the voting populace of this country, hahahahahaha! "

" @Meowshi said:

" @Seppli said:

" @ryanwho said:

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

 Personally, I believe crippling offenders would be more effective. Take a violent offenders strength (severing all ligaments and such). Take a fraudulent offenders voice and finger dexterity. Castrate sexual offenders. Not permanently of course. Just for as long as fits the crime. Not take away their freedom, but their means of doing again, what they did wrong.  On top of that, I'd strip them of the protection of the laws they broke. A murder on a convicted murderer isn't against the law, because the offender broke that law and is no longer protected by it. Let them face the horror and terror of the general population knowing what they did, without being 'safe and comfy' behind prison walls.  Those worthy of redemption will find it in the general populus. Monsters however will perish. One way or another. The only way to survive such a situation is to ask for help. "

HAHAHahahahahahHAAHHAHAHhaah.  Oh my god.  This thread is killing me.  I can't believe you people make up the voting populace of this country, hahahahahaha! "

Yep, people like that make up the majority. That's why cruel and unusual punishment is totally legal, cus everyone agrees with that one guy. Great observation, you fucking joker. "

Well when you look at America's population it even's itself out a bit, More people? there will more than likely be more cases of crime, but more people also means you have a greater ratio of attractive people in the country muahahaha! Hell California alone has a larger population than most countries add to the fact America is far more multicultural than various other populations and yea....you get the picture. To be honest considering how diverse we are i'm shocked we havn't all killed each other its a miracle, were doing better than Rome did!

My cousin is in prison in Texas for growing psilocybin mushrooms, and there are rapist and murderers who have shorter sentences than he does. He didn't even have any weapons, just mushrooms.

" @ryanwho said:

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

 Personally, I believe crippling offenders would be more effective. Take a violent offenders strength (severing all ligaments and such). Take a fraudulent offenders voice and finger dexterity. Castrate sexual offenders. Not permanently of course. Just for as long as fits the crime. Not take away their freedom, but their means of doing again, what they did wrong.  On top of that, I'd strip them of the protection of the laws they broke. A murder on a convicted murderer isn't against the law, because the offender broke that law and is no longer protected by it. Let them face the horror and terror of the general population knowing what they did, without being 'safe and comfy' behind prison walls.  Those worthy of redemption will find it in the general populus. Monsters however will perish. One way or another. The only way to survive such a situation is to ask for help. "

Of course none of that is comparable to the fact that you're basically saying that killing people is alright in certain circumstances, which will only make people question whether or not it's actually wrong at all.  I'm not against the death penalty, but that's my number one problem with it. 

Like another user posted, it's non-violent drug offenders making up a large number.
 
Almost 900,000 people were arrested on marijuana crimes last year alone, and 80% of that is for simple possession. We despratly need change, but the people who benefit from this are so ingrained into the political system, Prison Gard Unions, Privatized Prisons, Drug Courts, Correction Facilitys, Parroll Officers, Police Officers, and this list goes on and on. There is money involved in busting cannabis users and growers, Federal grants are given to city police departments when they make drug busts. What makes this worse is the way the media and government portray marijuana, many people see through the reefer maddness, but a lot of people don't. So the moment you start talking about the failed drug war and how marijuana prohibition is a terrible thing for this country many people just tune you out. They don't want to hear it. I urge anyone living in the USA who realizes that we need to fix this to get involved. Contact state representatives, be informed so you can discuss this with friends, family, and co-workers.

" @Seppli said:

" @ryanwho said:

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

 Personally, I believe crippling offenders would be more effective. Take a violent offenders strength (severing all ligaments and such). Take a fraudulent offenders voice and finger dexterity. Castrate sexual offenders. Not permanently of course. Just for as long as fits the crime. Not take away their freedom, but their means of doing again, what they did wrong.  On top of that, I'd strip them of the protection of the laws they broke. A murder on a convicted murderer isn't against the law, because the offender broke that law and is no longer protected by it. Let them face the horror and terror of the general population knowing what they did, without being 'safe and comfy' behind prison walls.  Those worthy of redemption will find it in the general populus. Monsters however will perish. One way or another. The only way to survive such a situation is to ask for help. "

You know that doing all that is not only a very outdated form of "justice"(it's really akin to going back to chopping off a thieves hand), but the surgery to both safely sever ligaments, and then repair them, is likely more expensive than just imprisoning them. Also, are you aware of the Hippocratic Oath that doctors swear to? Your suggested punishment would completely violate it, and the only people left to do the surgery wouldn't be trained to do it in a way that could be fixed. "

Well my cousins been arrested multiple times... 
 
and it may be a scary stat but to me its really not particularly surprising

" Like another user posted, it's non-violent drug offenders making up a large number.  Almost 900,000 people were arrested on marijuana crimes last year alone, and 80% of that is for simple possession. We despratly need change, but the people who benefit from this are so ingrained into the political system, Prison Gard Unions, Privatized Prisons, Drug Courts, Correction Facilitys, Parroll Officers, Police Officers, and this list goes on and on. There is money involved in busting cannabis users and growers, Federal grants are given to city police departments when they make drug busts. What makes this worse is the way the media and government portray marijuana, many people see through the reefer maddness, but a lot of people don't. So the moment you start talking about the failed drug war and how marijuana prohibition is a terrible thing for this country many people just tune you out. They don't want to hear it. I urge anyone living in the USA who realizes that we need to fix this to get involved. Contact state representatives, be informed so you can discuss this with friends, family, and co-workers. "

" @l4wd0g said:

" @Chabbs0 said:

" And 99% of people are religious in US jails.      Hides. "

Huh? "

83% of people in US prisons are Christian. 0.21% are Atheists.    Well at least according to some survey (that's 10 years old), maybe not a reliable source then but still interesting. "

That's like only two million less than the population of my country!

" @Chabbs0 said:

" @l4wd0g said:

" @Chabbs0 said:

" And 99% of people are religious in US jails.      Hides. "

Huh? "

83% of people in US prisons are Christian. 0.21% are Atheists.    Well at least according to some survey (that's 10 years old), maybe not a reliable source then but still interesting. "

Your an idiot for taking that so far out of context and running with it. Most of the country is still casually Christian, and most likely those people are converted while they are in prison. That's why you have so many Biker Churches.  "

" How many of 'em do you know personally or by association? Have you ever been incarcerated? Why are so many Americans convicted criminals? Is it safe to travel to the US? Do you feel safe livin' in the US? What the hell's going on over the big pond in your front yard? That's an 'effin scary statistic. "

The race distributions are a serious issue here as well...

1 in every 11 African American adults is in jail or prison

So I'm a part of the lucky 10 out of the 11 that aren't in jail or prison.
Sweet.

"

1 in every 11 African American adults is in jail or prison

So I'm a part of the lucky 10 out of the 11 that aren't in jail or prison.
Sweet.

"

" @Bonsai said:

" @Seppli said:

" @ryanwho said:

" Taco chill out, your craziness is clouding the good point you might be making. A lot of small prison term crimes serve only to create more hardened criminals. That includes smalltime drug charges and prostitution, and putting those people in a room with rapists, gangsters and murderers. There's a fundamental problem there, but NOBODY IN THE WORLD has found a better way to run prisons. So its kind of a glass house thing. Plenty of smalltime criminals in Europe got fucked up even more going through the prison system, you just happen to have a smaller population. A small country is always going to have smaller figures, even if it has all of the same problems. At the end of the day, congresspeople know being "hard on drugs" is something that will get them votes and that will get voted through quickly. And that's why the system is how it is, that's why maximum penalties for drug use are so ridiculously disproportionate compared to, say, child molesters. 
 
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/cri-crime   Basically, drug offenses account for about 2/3 of the prison population, and if you look at the other high stats, I would guarantee a good chunk of them come from former inmates who learned new "survival traits", let's say, from their prison peers. Whoever decided it was a good idea to allow every brand of prisoner to just sit and talk shop with each other was a damn fool. Prison reeducation should come from professionals, not other inmates. "

 Personally, I believe crippling offenders would be more effective. Take a violent offenders strength (severing all ligaments and such). Take a fraudulent offenders voice and finger dexterity. Castrate sexual offenders. Not permanently of course. Just for as long as fits the crime. Not take away their freedom, but their means of doing again, what they did wrong.  On top of that, I'd strip them of the protection of the laws they broke. A murder on a convicted murderer isn't against the law, because the offender broke that law and is no longer protected by it. Let them face the horror and terror of the general population knowing what they did, without being 'safe and comfy' behind prison walls.  Those worthy of redemption will find it in the general populus. Monsters however will perish. One way or another. The only way to survive such a situation is to ask for help. "

You know that doing all that is not only a very outdated form of "justice"(it's really akin to going back to chopping off a thieves hand), but the surgery to both safely sever ligaments, and then repair them, is likely more expensive than just imprisoning them. Also, are you aware of the Hippocratic Oath that doctors swear to? Your suggested punishment would completely violate it, and the only people left to do the surgery wouldn't be trained to do it in a way that could be fixed. "

Ain't got the specific numbers, yet you can be fairly certain that the average prisoner costs around 100k dollars each year. Crippling offenders instead of incarcerating them, will be cheaper. The other upside is refraining from creating a criminal microcosm, which a prison is. Prisons are often referred to as 'Crime College'. The only way for a cripple to survive in this world, is by the kindness of others. So this too is another oppurtunity to learn a valuable lesson. Way better than whatever you'll learn in prison.  Also, it's pretty fucking scary to face the general populus knowing your crimes when being crippled. A way better deterrent than incarceration. Literally, facing a jury of your peers.  I say, cripple them appropriately, mark them visibly, chip them with gps, alert and inform the public about them and release them into the general populus. King Solomon himself couldn't handle modern crime more appropriately. "

In 1997, almost 80% of people in US prisons were Christian while 0.2% were Atheists.   
Note that atheists, being a moderate proportion of the USA population (about 8 - 16%) are disproportionately less in the prison populations (0.21%) (1997 figures).
This proves that being religious does not mean the person is more likely to be good. In fact some could argue against that. 
 
Just stirring the pot a bit. 
I also heard somewhere (I think it was on QI) that there are more 17 - 19 African Americans in prison than in education (college). That's a depressing statistic.

" In 1997, almost 80% of people in US prisons were Christian while 0.2% were Atheists.    Note that atheists, being a moderate proportion of the USA population (about 8 - 16%) are disproportionately less in the prison populations (0.21%) (1997 figures).This proves that being religious does not mean the person is more likely to be good. In fact some could argue against that.  Just stirring the pot a bit. I also heard somewhere (I think it was on QI) that there are more 17 - 19 African Americans in prison than in education (college). That's a depressing statistic. "

"Most people in positions of power aren't atheist. Must mean religious people have more drive, right? No. False correlations. "

" @ryanwho said:

"Most people in positions of power aren't atheist. Must mean religious people have more drive, right? No. False correlations. "

Most people (Infact, 99.9% of politicians) in power will not be openly Atheist because if they do they do not get voted for. That's simple. That's more worrying I think that a country that's meant to be free and open to all religions and creeds where you have to conform to 1 belief to have any chance of attaining any sort of power to how your country is run. That's not safe or logical. "

" @Scooper said:

" @ryanwho said:

"Most people in positions of power aren't atheist. Must mean religious people have more drive, right? No. False correlations. "

Most people (Infact, 99.9% of politicians) in power will not be openly Atheist because if they do they do not get voted for. That's simple. That's more worrying I think that a country that's meant to be free and open to all religions and creeds where you have to conform to 1 belief to have any chance of attaining any sort of power to how your country is run. That's not safe or logical. "

So people in power are secret atheists and everyone in prison was religious before going into prison. You're molding your own narrative out of thin air, bro. "

Here's the problem:  Look at this thread.  No one can agree on what should be done with criminals.  Punishment or rehabilitation?  And whichever way you go, how do you do it?   
 
As for you Europeans going on about the scary number of 7.3 million, that's all of TWO PERCENT of the US population.  Sorry that seven million seems like a ton to you.  It's a drop in the bucket to us.   
 
Yes, prisons are definitely a problem for recidivism.  So are gangs. 
 
That's another thing I don't think European countries really understand is the gang element in the US.  When our prison gang population alone (not even talking our street gang population) is enough to rival some of your country populations, I don't think you can even begin to try to understand the problems we face here.

" @Inkerman: Where'd you get that stat?  The numbers I find suggest the TOTAL number of death row inmates in the US is a bit over 3000 (source here).  And given that the total number of executions in America since 1976 is around 1200, it seems likely to me that many of those people won't actually be executed. "