Study: Half of US adults have had close family member jailed

[Easo]

So that thing about USA being a prison nation and all that. Well, here is another example of why that actually might be true:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46471444

"Nearly half of all US adults have had an immediate family member incarcerated at some point in their lives, according to a new study.

Researchers also reported one in seven adults have seen immediate family incarcerated for over a year, with minorities most impacted.

The study by criminal justice non-profit FWD.us and Cornell University surveyed over 4,000 American adults.

Over 2 million Americans are currently in prison in the US.

US inmate chooses electric chair death
The report estimates 64% of US adults have had someone in their family spend at least one night in jail or prison."

REPORT:
https://everysecond.fwd.us/

Either you admit that you have issues with the system, not the people, OR you can admit that you proportionally have way more criminals than everyone else. I wonder which one it would be, hmm?

[Celista]

I mean, I would believe that half of the US is made up of rednecks that are all related to one another.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I am joking.

[Celista]

Anyone who doesn't think the US has a prison problem is literally retarded, so just ignore them. The problem is how do we fix something that is SO ingrained? I mean not only are unions and big money lobbyists actively trying to put MORE people in prison, but then you still have fucking drug laws that screw people on top of that and retards who think that being in prison makes you a leper.

I think we need to change the mindset around our prison system. It is designed to punish and as you note, it is a never-ending punishment due to stigma. We need to create a widespread mindset that prison should be rehabilitative, and when you're done you've paid your debt to society. The goal should be integrating people back into society, not punishing them forever, which perpetuates the revolving-door nature of prisons.

[prwraith]

It's not hard to stay on the right side of the law in the USA. I'll never understand why so many people commit basic crimes >.< I'll admit the system has a problem with over incarceration for a lot of silly crimes (pot being a major one) but if you know that pot is illegal and still use it, that's on you.

I'm sorry but just because something shouldn't be illegal doesn't mean it's not currently illegal. Your dissatisfaction with the laws doesn't mean you can ignore them at will with impunity.

[Independent voter]

County jail is nothing. It shouldn't even count. If they catch you being drunk and disorderly they put you in county jail. When they say "half of US adults know a family member who has been jailed", they mean county jail.

Prison is real incarceration.

[JohnBrown1917]

It's not hard to stay on the right side of the law in the USA. I'll never understand why so many people commit basic crimes >.< I'll admit the system has a problem with over incarceration for a lot of silly crimes (pot being a major one) but if you know that pot is illegal and still use it, that's on you.

I'm sorry but just because something shouldn't be illegal doesn't mean it's not currently illegal. Your dissatisfaction with the laws doesn't mean you can ignore them at will with impunity.

Yet the US has the biggest prison population in the world, ontop of it having a private prison system that encourages those industries to find more way to get people into prison.

Don't kid yourself that it is purely the vault of the offender.

[Draco-Onis]

Anyone who doesn't think the US has a prison problem is literally retarded, so just ignore them. The problem is how do we fix something that is SO ingrained? I mean not only are unions and big money lobbyists actively trying to put MORE people in prison, but then you still have fucking drug laws that screw people on top of that and retards who think that being in prison makes you a leper.

The solution is of course the laws that we are stuck with from the 90s including the drug laws although there is bipartisan consensus that the system sucks there is just too much money in it for politicians to lift a finger. This country was screwed the moment we let politics and money become one, only lobbyists have a real say in policy these day and they buy these politicians on the cheap.

[Sky High]

the war on drugs is the source of so many problems we have in this country it's fucking comical at this point.

[Slant]

As a long-term goal I think that's a good idea, but the stigma around prison also exists for good reason... Prison is supposed to be where the murderers and rapists and thieves are... Not where drug addicts and mentally ill people are. At the very least we need to stop people who didn't even do anything to deserve that stigma from receiving it, and then work on the stigma itself.

Considering we have the highest per capita prison population in the world, it's objectively harder to stay on the right side of the law in the USA than any other country.

Not sure what your point exactly is, but the EU doesn't agree. The numbers don't agree. And we do have a larger population with a metric ton of higher population density than the US. But it is a different situation, of course.

[Zeek Daniels]

you mean a problem as easy to solve as dont commit crimes? If you dont like the laws then move to some other country. There is no problem. The only problem would be if ppl were being jailed and not actually breaking the law. If you want to change the laws then do that as well.

[Draco-Onis]

you mean a problem as easy to solve as dont commit crimes? If you dont like the laws then move to some other country. There is no problem. The only problem would be if ppl were being jailed and not actually breaking the law. If you want to change the laws then do that as well.

Fun fact if you are poor even if you are innocent you will end up in jail because you can't afford a lawyer, your overworked civil servant who just spent two seconds on your case will pressure you to plea because he will lose at trial. That's just one aspect of how fucked up the system is not going into things like the broken bail system is you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

[ArguesWithStrangers]

So that thing about USA being a prison nation and all that. Well, here is another example of why that actually might be true:




Either you admit that you have issues with the system, not the people, OR you can admit that you proportionally have way more criminals than everyone else. I wonder which one it would be, hmm?

Equating spending a night in jail to prison is more than a little bit ridiculous. Regardless though, we do have a prison problem. The thing is it can be attributed with the failed war on drugs. Once we abandon that fools errand, the issue goes away. That is, unless you're advocating for the release of violent criminals because you dredged up some statistics.

[JohnBrown1917]

you mean a problem as easy to solve as dont commit crimes? If you dont like the laws then move to some other country. There is no problem. The only problem would be if ppl were being jailed and not actually breaking the law. If you want to change the laws then do that as well.

That hardly explains the huge prison population the US has, especially for black men.

[endersblade]

Yep, my step-brother spent the better part of his 20s in jail for repeated drug offenses. What a winner he turned out to be. His dad spent a lot of time in prison for similar. Nice to know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[ArguesWithStrangers]

Yet the US has the biggest prison population in the world, ontop of it having a private prison system that encourages those industries to find more way to get people into prison.

Don't kid yourself that it is purely the vault of the offender.

I'm curious how you imagine the private prisons are sending people to those prisons. Are the guards forming posses to round up criminals and circumventing the judicial system? You know, it is quite possible for not every problem on earth to have the same cause. Just saying.

[Zeek Daniels]

That hardly explains the huge prison population the US has, especially for black men.

It easily explains it. Black men break more laws relative to their population size. The solution is simple. Change the laws so that what they are doing isnt punishable by law.

But id like you to go look up statistics on chicago gun violence and see if its black, white or Hispanic doing the majority of the shootings. And then ask if its because of the laws or if its society thats causing that violence.

[ArguesWithStrangers]

That hardly explains the huge prison population the US has, especially for black men.

Black men tend to commit more crimes on average. Just like white men commit more crimes than on average than Asian men, or white women, or kids. In other words, get that stupid shit out of this conversation.

[Underverse]

That hardly explains the huge prison population the US has, especially for black men.

How so? People who commit crimes end up in jail, sometimes. The problem is multifactorial, but actually committing crimes is obviously the biggest driver behind prison populations, unless you're suggesting that the system is so broken that the majority of people in prisons are innocent?

[Jonnusthegreat]

I mean my brother was jailed and spent tens of thousands of dollars in order to prove his innocence. So no one in my family is a criminal but yes close family member 'wrongfully' imprisoned.

[Aitch]

Well, considering every inmate has at least two close family members, that’s not at all surprising.