Saturday, May 03, 2008

Behind Blue Eyes

This post is not about football. Sorry.

And we're just asking, although it probably wouldn't make people smile during polite dinner conversation ...

Did you know one in every 100 Americans is in prison?

So, we're just asking: Do you know anybody in prison? In a county jail? City lock-up? In a federal penitentiary?

Personally, I don't (except for Michael Vick).

I don't know anybody in jail or prison.

Damn, though, that statistic seems high. Is it accurate? I sure don't know.

What I do know is this: There is a company out there called Corrections Correction of America.
ttp://www.correctionscorp.com/

It's a big company.

From CCA's own boilerplate statement:

"Corrections Corporation of America is the nation's largest owner and operator of privatized correctional and detention facilities and one of the largest prison operators in the United States, behind only the federal government and three states. CCA currently operates 63 facilities, including 38 company-owned facilities, with a total design capacity of approximately 67,000 beds in 19 states and the District of Columbia."

Hey, just throwing it out there.

Okay, cut me a break: It's the off-season.

Comments, insults, stories, jokes and jibes are welcome.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grew up in the hood, so yeah, I know plenty of people in jail.
Also know just as many people from the hood working in jails.

Often think back what separated us. Why some of us went one way and some the other. Everytime, I come to the same conclusion -- parents.
When I look back on who made it and who didn't, with very few exceptions, the ones with the bad home life went the wrong way.

Myself, we had virtually no money growing up, but all three of my parents children graduated college.

Also my parents were at my school all the time volunteering for one thing or the other. And if I got into trouble at school, boy, I was in bigger trouble at home. My version of events were never asked for. Teachers were always right. A rule todays parents sadly, do not follow.


Maybe they should say 1 in 100 people SHOULD be in jail? (Would that cover all the politicians?)

am

Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls said...

Funny you should say that about the politicians. I was wondering the same thing.

bitch and blog said...

Some statistics show that actually there are more people in US prisons than in Chinese prisons. Their population is about 1.3 billion (rounding down). Ours is about 304 million (rounding up). We have 1/4 the population of China, and more people are in the US prison system. Even if human rights activists are right about their projections as to how many actual Chinese prisoners there are, (about 12/13 million) that would mean that approximately 0.9 percent of the population is in prison in China, still less of a percentage than the US. The United States has 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's incarcerated population.

Other interesting facts: About 10.4% of all black males in the United States between the ages of 25 and 29 were sentenced and in prison, compared to 2.4% of Hispanic males and 1.3% of white males.

Anonymous said...

Interestingly, all the people I know in prison, with the exception of one, is white.

I'm thinking drug trade has something to so with your stats. And I am guessing that drugs in China aren't as big a problem as they are here. I would be interested in seeing the breakdown of prisoner offenses in China. I bet alot are political prisoners.

Unfortunately, until we start doing something about the quality of life for young black men in the hoods, thats not about to change anytime soon. And until all of us realize that it is not just their problem, it's only going to get worse.

am