Well, maybe more people are moving into “The Big House”.  Or, maybe they are just staying longer. 

According to the NYT

Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million. Another 723,000 people are in local jails. The number of American adults is about 230 million, meaning that one in every 99.1 adults is behind bars.

Incarceration rates are even higher for some groups. One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 black adults is, too, as is one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34.

The report, from the Pew Center on the States, also found that only one in 355 white women between the ages of 35 and 39 are behind bars but that one in 100 black women are.

So, it seems to me that too many of us are being housed in the communal farm called jail.  According to what I have read, there isn’t a tremendous increase in crime, about 3%, but with extended sentences and fewer paroles, we are stocking the prisons as if there is no tomorrow.

Anyone with one eye and half sense can see that there are disproportionate numbers of Hispanics and blacks in the prison system.  That should not come as a surprise.  For years the death penalty cases have been traditionally stacked against black on white crimes.  As the crimes lessen in severity it seems that the proportional rate of incarcerated minorities grows. 

Something is wrong with this picture.  For one, I am convinced that it isn’t necessarily that blacks and browns are more criminally inclined.  Unfortunately, it reflects that many of those who are incarcerated don’t have the political connections to keep the out of The Big House or they don’t have the funds for hired lawyers.  And, it is true, you get the best justice money can buy.

Perhaps… just a suggestion… rather than continue to stock the body farms and drain the economy by long term incarcerations, we could try education and rehabilitation.  The longer a person stays confined, the greater the probability that he/she will return.  (For anyone who has not seen “Sawshank Redemption”, now would be a good time to watch it.) 

The present system of law does not work to the benefit of anyone.  So, once again, I am reminded of something my father told me years ago.  “Doing more of what doesn’t work, doesn’t make it work any better.”  Think it’s time to take a different approach?