The US spends about $52 Billion on people in prison. There are about 2.3 million people in US prisons, with nearly 5 million people on parole.
The reason isn't because the US puts more people per year into prison; the reason is that the US keeps people in prison for so long.
The incredibly high prison rate has other weird effects. People are expected to die in prison but prison guards are not trained to deal with people at end of life. Dementia in particular is difficult for anyone to deal with.
We know that prison doesn't work for most prisoners. So why do we spend so much money keeping people there? (There are some people who deserve to be in jail, and who cannot live in wider society.)
The reason isn't because the US puts more people per year into prison; the reason is that the US keeps people in prison for so long.
The incredibly high prison rate has other weird effects. People are expected to die in prison but prison guards are not trained to deal with people at end of life. Dementia in particular is difficult for anyone to deal with.
I found this article moving:
Life, With Dementia (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/health/dealing-with-dement...)
And here's another article about prison hospice:
(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1121-prison-hospice-...)
We know that prison doesn't work for most prisoners. So why do we spend so much money keeping people there? (There are some people who deserve to be in jail, and who cannot live in wider society.)