Halfway

Synopsis

The National Institute of Justice explains that the national inmate population stands at 24 million and African-Americans and Hispanics make up two-thirds of that total. This is significant since African-Americans only consist of 12% of the population and the Hispanics population around 167%. The National Institute of Justice goes on to point out that the United States has the highest number of people incarcerated than any other democratic nation in the world. Among African American juvenile arrests, the re-incarceration rate averages about three times higher than that of Whites. To compound this, among prisoners released in 30 states in 2005 roughly two-thirds (67.8%) were arrested for a new crime within 3 years with over three-quarters (76.6%) re-arrested within 5 years. It's crystal clear to see there is serious systematic failure within the prison system, where a lack of opportunity for those who have transgressed in their past seems to guarantee a lasting future behind bars.