PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL: …The shameful outcome of policies that have led to an explosion of prison spending is well-documented: A major study by the Pew Center on the States found in 2008 that one in 31 adults – 7.3 million Americans – was in prison, or on parole or probation. One in 11 African-Americans is under correctional control, compared to one in 45 whites.
True, crime rates have fallen in past decades, but only some of that can be attributed to high incarceration rates and are outweighed by the astronomical financial and social costs. Pennsylvania, for example, spends about twice as much on corrections – $1.8 billion – as it does on higher education…
High rates of incarceration affect communities and families; those who have been incarcerated have limited earning power and their families are more likely to live in poverty… (more)
