The world's worst prison state . . . . .

[MrFun]

I would like to congratulate my own country for being among the worst countries in terms of proportion of population that is imprisoned.

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[gribbler]

Congratulations USA on catching criminals and putting them in prison

[Proteus_MST]

Why not putting almost the whole population of the USA into prison and let Marilyn vos Savant (worlds most intelligent woman) run the country (and also giving her the key to the prisons)...
I´m sure an age of prosperity and peace for the USA would be the result

[gribbler]

Because most Americans aren't violent criminals who need to be put away for the good of society.

[Asher]

Because most Americans aren't violent criminals who need to be put away for the good of society.

5 minutes at a NASCAR race may change your mind.

[Lorizael]

Why not putting almost the whole population of the USA into prison and let Marilyn vos Savant (worlds most intelligent woman) run the country (and also giving her the key to the prisons)...
I´m sure an age of prosperity and peace for the USA would be the result

Marilyn vos Savant doesn't even understand basic probability.

[Al B. Sure!]

We have a lot more criminals than those countries. That's the real problem; why do we have so many more criminals, not why do we have so many prisoners?

[Asher]

It's both.

You have so many criminals due to the stupid war on drugs, and you have so many prisoners because your system doesn't rehabilitate very well.

[loinburger]

"Congrats on finishing your 10-year prison sentence. Now remember: this time, don't do heroin."
"Oh ****, that reminds me, I need to do some heroin!"

[Elok]

I would be horrified by such a high percentage of criminals among our populus, but I'm not sure what a populus is. If it's related to a pompatus, well, we all knew that Steve Miller character was up to no good.

[loinburger]

Wikipedia says that it refers to a genus of deciduous trees, so apparently the US has a lot of naughty trees (or maybe they cut down a lot of trees after convicting them on trumped up charges)

[DaShi]

It's both.

You have so many criminals due to the stupid war on drugs, and you have so many prisoners because your system doesn't rehabilitate very well.

QFT!

Once someone serves jail time, it follows them the rest of their life. While some claim it is supposed to deter them from committing crime in the first place, it more often locks them into a criminal lifestyle because the alternatives are shut off for them. Drug users have it especially hard.

[Ming]

I think liberty for life needs to learn how to use Pie Charts properly...

[Dr Strangelove]

Yeah, for instance Russia's homicide rate is around 15 / 100,000 compared to 5 / 100,000 for the US. I'm willing to bet that Russia has more crime in every category. The problem in Russia is that they're not putting their criminals in prison - sometimes because the criminals run the prison.

[DaShi]

Russia is a prison.

[Elok]

Wikipedia says that it refers to a genus of deciduous trees, so apparently the US has a lot of naughty trees (or maybe they cut down a lot of trees after convicting them on trumped up charges)

Perhaps they were mistaken for the similarly-named tulip poplar, which has definite antisocial tendencies. Damned thing sprouts everywhere like mint--doesn't seem to know it's a tree.

[Wezil]

"...trunked up charges" would have been funnier.

[Tuberski]

PACMAN FEVER!!!!!!!

ACK!

[MrFun]

It's both.

You have so many criminals due to the stupid war on drugs, and you have so many prisoners because your system doesn't rehabilitate very well.

Yeah. I don't think non-violent drug offenders should be sent to prison. But I do think they should be sentenced to some kind of probation program, and rehabilitated.

I think many of the prisoners who are imprisoned because of some types of misdemeanors could have been rehabilitated, rather than tossed into prison. But hey, corporations who own and operate the prisons need to make a profit.

[Proteus_MST]

If you have ever seen "Running man",
you should know that there is a possible alternative to prison,
that could not only generate lots of money, but also provides TV entertainment for the whole family

[Wezil]

I think non-violent socialist do-gooders should be sentenced to some sort of probation program and rehabilitated.

[Ming]

If you have ever seen "Running man",
you should know that there is a possible alternative to prison,
that could not only generate lots of money, but also provides TV entertainment for the whole family

A true grade B SF movie... it was really bad... but not a bad concept

[gribbler]

I don't think non-violent sodomites should be sent to prison, but they should be put on probation and rehabilitated.

[The Mad Monk]

Norway is far and away the world's worst prison state...

Norway prison frees inmates as guards strikes
Updated 09:15 PM May 27, 2012OSLO - Convicted sex offenders and violent criminals were let loose from a Norway prison this week when guards went on strike, forcing authorities to free 52 inmates, officials said.

"Some of these are prisoners convicted for violence, drugs, economic crime and sex crimes," Harald Aasaune, the manager of the Bjoergvin prison outside Bergen, said on Friday.

"Bjoergvin is an open prison, but still, many of them are sitting in relatively long sentences," he added. "I don't think this has ever happened before."

Four of Bjoergvin's prisoners were released on probation while 48 were granted a five-day furlough as guards joined other public workers on strike.

State workers in Norway, whose rapid economic growth stands out in a troubled continent, went on strike for the first time in 28 years on Thursday after pay talks broke down, shutting schools, child care centres and other public institutions.

The indefinite strike initially affected up to 30,000 of the 600,000 people employed by the central and local governments but it is expected to widen unless the two sides reach a settlement.

Norway's open prisons allow inmates to roam freely, primarily in a natural setting, as the Nordic nation's justice system focuses on rehabilitation over incarceration.

Violent criminals who pose a danger to society are not allowed in open prisons but even they, particularly toward the end of a sentence, are sometimes transferred to such facilities. REUTERS

...they can't run a prison worth a damn.

[Asher]

Aren't convicts routinely released early due to overcrowding in the US?

[The Mad Monk]

Due to all the guards leaving?

[Asher]

The end result is people are being released early prior to their sentence being served due to insufficient resources.

[The Mad Monk]

That has nothing to do with how we run our prisons and everything to do with our stupid drug laws.

Also, damn you for making me answer seriously.

[Proteus_MST]

That has nothing to do with how we run our prisons and everything to do with our stupid drug laws.

Also, damn you for making me answer seriously.

Yay,
a country in which even schoolgirls can get suspended because they bring a single Aspirine pill with them to school (because they have headaches) is truely "interesting". (of course I know that the main blame should be put onto the school here ... but it is sad, that the police had to play its part in this farce, with arresting the girl and then taking her with them in handcuffs, instead of taking the principal of the school, shaking him violently and crying "DAMN YOU, THIS IS JUST A SIMPLE HEADACHE PILL" )

[Wezil]

"Zero tolerance" leads to absurd reults.