The United States currently incarcerates 2 million people -- more people than any other country on the planet. Why are so many people in prison? Is this country just full of wrong-doers and criminals? Is it just the unfortunate price paid for "stability and democracy"? The answer to these questions unfolds into a complex story involving political opportunists, the role of the mass media in shaping public opinion and new manifestations of the US's legacy of racism.
Right now 60% of people in federal prisons have been locked up for drug charges. When I first read that statistic in a report by the Sentencing Project (sentencingproject.org) I was amazed. Further researched taught me that more than 70% of the people given drug sentences in the US are African-American although most studies show that they only make up about 12% of the nation's drug users.
Self Education Foundation - Unlocked Minds - 60%: The Sentencing Policies of the War on Drugs and their Effects on America
