| Louisville's White Becomes Denver's 1st African-American Police Chief ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robert White, Denver's incoming police chief, plans to change the culture of a department staggered by a string of firings in excessive-force cases and restore trust between the community and police. "I do have an agenda: That is to help prevent crime and make this a safer community," White told the Denver Post. "The key to making that happen is the men and women of the Police Department and the 600,000-plus residents that live in our community. The two have to become one; that requires a collaborative relationship." Mayor Michael Hancock picked White after a national search that turned up 61 applicants. White, 59, has been police chief in Louisville since 2003. Pending City Council approval, he will be Denver's first African-American police chief and only the second chief from outside the department in 50 years. As long as things are done in the open, the community will accept a chief's decision when controversy erupts, even if many disagree, White said. When he takes over from outgoing Chief Gerry Whitman, his first priority will be to listen, he said |
| Save Webb Justice Commission, Say New York Times, Washington Post ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times and Washington Post simultaneously came down on Senate Republicans for voting to block a proposal by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) to create a bipartisan commission to review the nation's troubled criminal justice system and offer recommendations for reform. The Times notes that some senators falsely claimed that it would "encroach on states' rights." With crime down and 2.3 million people in prisons and jails, says the Times, "Reasonable senators should support the bipartisan commission that Senator Webb is calling for, which would cost only $5 million and could help bring about compelling reforms." The Washington Post calls the Webb approach "long overdue," noting that the last comprehensive review of criminal justice was conducted roughly 45 years ago during the Johnson administration. The Post says criticisms from Republicans and the National District Attorneys Association "fall flat," adding that the commission "would only study the policies of local, state and national law enforcement entities and make recommendations about best practices. It would have no power to issue mandates. The federal government, which distributes federal dollars as incentives for states and localities to adopt best practices, has a legitimate need to know which policies work." |
| Justice Groups Seek Senate Funding for Second Chance Act ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several dozen criminal justice organizations have written to leaders of the Senate committee that funds the Justice Department urging continued funding for the Second Chance Act, which aids prisoner re-entry programs. The committee recently voted to zero out the program, saying that more money had to be spent on the federal prison system instead. The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union and the Sentencing Project, said they shared concerns "about the severe overcrowding that plagues" federal prisons, but "we believe building more prisons is not the answer." "Rather, it is simply a continuation of a costly and failed criminal justice strategy that states and local governments around the country have already rejected in favor of sentencing reform and alternative approaches to incarceration." The full Senate is likely to vote on the bill this week. The Second Chance program's fate may rest with a congressional conference committee, because the House Appropriations Committee approved funds for Second Chance. The organizations wrote last week to Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and will communicate soon to the whole Senate. |
| Trick or Treat Warning: Halloween Can be Prime Crime Time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Halloween night, with its make-believe ghosts but very real assailants, is the worst evening of the year for violent crime victimization in Boston, says Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox. Writing for the Boston Globe, Fox says the evening violent crime count on October 31 is about 50 percent higher than on any other date during the year, and twice the daily average. An hour-by-hour chart shows that the incidence of Halloween-night violence peaks in the early evening. The most popular hours for gathering Snickers and Junior Mints around the neighborhood are apparently also the prime time for violent crime. During the rest of the year, crime incidence rises throughout the evening hours, not peaking until just before midnight. |
| CA Prison Realignment Should End "Massive Inmate Turnover": Cate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matt Cate, secretary of California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, may have the toughest job in state government. His mandate: overseeing a massive downsizing of the $10 billion agency by shifting some prison and parole tasks to counties. Cate lists three signs of potential success for the Sacramento Bee: "We were facing a prisoner release (court) order on the magnitude of about 35,000 inmates. That's (like) emptying seven prisons onto the streets. So if we avoid an early release order from the Supreme Court, that will be a sign of success. We know prison spending has been growing at an unsustainable rate. If we see that coming down [ ] hat will be a sign of success. And if we see recidivism rates reduced from the neighborhood of 70 percent, then we'll know the counties are fulfilling their promise, which has been, "We can do this better." He says prison workers "will have to get used to working in institutions without massive inmate turnover. Last year we had 47,000 inmates serve 90 days or less." |
| NRA, Farmers Square Off Over Sunday Hunting in Pennsylvania ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pennsylvania's ban on shooting on the Sabbath, with roots in the blue laws of the 19th century, is shaping up to be a face-off between arguably the two most powerful lobbies in the state: sportsmen and farmers, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. The National Rifle Association and other firearms and hunting groups are making a big push for legislation to overturn a 138-year-old ban on Sunday hunting, arguing that they should have the right to hunt seven days a week during hunting seasons. They cite economic advantages for expanding hunting, pointing to a new study by a legislative commission that predicts that adding days will create thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue. Those involved in the state's number-one industry - agriculture - and recreation groups say they simply want a day of peace in the countryside each week. Farmers want to preserve the one day they don't have to worry about trespassers, while hikers, bikers, and horseback riders want to continue enjoying public land on Sundays without the fear of getting shot. The legislation - still being debated in a House committee - would not open all Sundays to hunting. It calls for the Pennsylvania Game Commission - which voted, 4-3, last spring to support the bill - to determine which Sundays, in which hunting seasons, would be open to shooting. |
| Despite Death Penalty Bluster, Perry Has Backed Justice Reforms ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas Gov. Rick Perry's record on criminal justice is more mixed than his tough stance on the death penalty suggests, partly because of changes in the political and legal climate over his three terms as governor, says the New York Times. Death sentences and average yearly executions have declined during his tenure compared with that of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Persistent efforts to fix Texas's justice system have finally borne some fruit. Perry has not been a crusader, but he has signed reform-minded legislation and acknowledged some of the system's mistakes. Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas said Perry "has done more good than any other governor we've ever had. He approaches criminal justice issues like a lay person rather than like a prosecutor or judge, which makes him open-minded and willing to embarrass the system. Unless, of course, it involves the death penalty." Because the governor has relatively little to do with capital punishment, Scott Henson of the Grits for Breakfast blog says Perry's "bluster about the death penalty is like the rooster who crows taking credit for the sun rising." |
| Few Milwaukee Cops Get Serious Penalties for Domestic Violence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At least 16 Milwaukee police officers have been disciplined after internal investigators concluded they had committed acts of domestic violence, say internal affairs records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Department leaders don't follow national standards on how to handle accusations of domestic violence against officers. Prosecutors often charge them with lesser crimes - or no crimes. As a result, officers who abuse their spouses or romantic partners are allowed to keep their jobs, carry loaded weapons, and respond when battered women call for help. Police agencies that tolerate abusive officers endanger victims, erode the community's trust, and make themselves vulnerable to lawsuits, said Judy Munaker, who spent five years training cops on officer-related domestic violence through the state Office of Justice Assistance. "They see it as protecting their own, but it's corruption," she said. "They need to stop protecting their own and start protecting victims." Last year the wife of a high-ranking commander in the division that investigates officer misconduct called 911 in fear of her husband. No one wrote up a report. Just three Milwaukee officers disciplined for abusing spouses or romantic partners ended up with criminal records. None of those convictions was for a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence, which would have ended their careers by stripping them of the right to carry guns under federal law. |
| Supreme Court Hears Cases on Bad Legal Advice, Plea Bargains ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments in two cases that ask how principles concerning bad legal work in trials should apply to plea bargains, says the New York Times. The question is of huge importance, because well over 90 percent of criminal cases are settled at the plea stage.I n the context of trials, it has long been established that defendants who can show that incompetent work by their lawyers probably affected the outcome are entitled to new trials. Plea bargaining, on the other hand, "remained all but unregulated, a free market that sometimes resembled a Turkish bazaar," writes University of Pennsylvania law Prof. Stephanos Bibas in California Law Review. Last year, in Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court took a big step toward supervising the plea bargaining process. Bad advice that persuaded a defendant to plead guilty without understanding that incarceration would be followed by deportation amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel, said the court. A solution to that kind of problem is fairly easy: allow the defendant to withdraw the plea and take his chances at trial. The new cases present a harder problem. What is to be done when a lawyer's incompetence caused a client to reject a favorable plea bargain? |
| Judges Acquit Accused Drunk Drivers In 80% of Massachusetts Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Frustrated Massachusetts judges have complained over the years about juries going soft on drunken driving defendants - people whose circumstances and plight jurors may relate to. It is judges themselves, many of them, who are most inclined to give those driving drunk a second chance - a chance, sometimes, to drink and drive and endanger the public again, says a Boston Globe investigation. The judges' acquittal rate now exceeds 80 percent across Massachusetts, the Globe's detailed review of thousands of court documents shows, meaning at least four out of five alleged drunk drivers who place their fate in the hands of a judge are walking out of court free of the burden - and penalties - of a guilty verdict. Free like one acquitted driver who barreled the wrong way onto a highway ramp and slammed into an oncoming car, sending both drivers to the hospital. Or another who deliberately ran over a man, leaving him bloodied and lying on the ground, during an early morning confrontation on another highway. |
| Guns Stolen from L.A. SWAT Unit May Be On Black Market ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All but three guns in a cache of weapons stolen this month from an unguarded building used by the Los Angeles Police Department's SWAT unit remain missing and may have been sold or traded on the black market, reports the Los Angeles Times. Police arrested two men on suspicion of committing the heist and three others for allegedly possessing the recovered weapons. The rest of the 30 weapons stolen were not found in the suspects' possession. Although the weapons, which included MP-5 submachine guns and large-caliber handguns, had been altered by police to fire only plastic pellets for training, it is possible for them to be converted back to lethal use. Officials have downplayed that possibility, although gun experts and online tutorials suggest that the process is relatively easy and requires only a few parts. Police trying to find the weapons, but don't know how many people may have bought guns from the men or any of their identities. |
| It's Official Now: Justice Department Muffins Didn't Cost $16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Justice Department didn't spend $16 apiece for muffins at a conference but still should be more careful on meeting budgets, says the department's Inspector General. On Friday, the auditors apologized for saying earlier that the department spent $16.80 each for muffins at a conference at Washington, D.C.'s Capital Hilton hotel, the Washington Post reports. Acting Inspector General Cynthia Schnedar said the muffins were part of a continental breakfast that also included items such as fruit, coffee, tea, juice, and other pastries. The new audit attributed the error to the Justice Department's own Executive Office for Immigration Review, which had documents showing the muffins were not so expensive as initially reported but "inadvertently" did not give them to the inspector general. The alleged $16 muffin caused a major stir at a time when belt-tightening is a watchword in Washington. Republicans and Democrats alike cited the pastries as emblems of wasteful spending. The day after the initial audit was issued, the Obama administration ordered a government-wide review of conference expenses. |
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| Deep Budget Cuts Are Testing the U.S. Criminal Justice System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep budget cuts to courts, public defenders, district attorney's, and attorney general offices are testing the U.S. criminal justice system, reports the Associated Press. In the most extreme cases, public defenders question whether their clients get a fair shake. Prosecutors are forced to ignore misdemeanor violations to pursue more serious crimes. Judges delay trials to cope with layoffs and strained staffing levels. In some cases, those charged with violent crimes, even murder, are set free because caseloads are too heavy to ensure they get a speedy trial. Exact figures on the extent of the cuts are hard to come by, but the American Bar Association says most states cut court funding 10 percent to 15 percent in the past three years. At least 26 states delayed filling open judgeships, while courts in 14 states were forced to lay off staff. The National District Attorneys Association estimates that hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal justice funding and scores of positions have been cut amid the economic downturn, hampering the ability of authorities to investigate and prosecute cases. "It's extremely frustrating. Frankly, the people that do these jobs have a lot of passion. They don't do these jobs for the money. They are in America's courtrooms every day to protect victims and do justice," said the district attorneys' Scott Burns. "And they're rewarded with terminations, furloughs and cuts in pay." |
| Despite "Occupy" Arrests in Atlanta, Oakland, No Crackdown in NYC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After police crackdowns against Occupy Wall Street in Georgia and California, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted his commitment to freedom of speech and defended his handling of the protesters, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Every city has to deal with the realities of how many people, where they are, what their tolerance is for freedom of speech," Bloomberg said. In Atlanta, police in riot gear moved into a small city park after midnight and arrested more than 50 protesters. In Oakland, police used tear gas and arrested more than 80 people. Since the protest at Zuccotti Park in New York City began last month, the mayor has tried to balance the demonstrators' rights and the local community's growing discontent with the noise, sanitation problems, and other fallout from the 24-hour encampment in a public plaza. The park, located a few blocks from Wall Street, is owned by Brookfield Properties under an agreement with the city that specifies it must be open to the public at all times. |
| California Could Move Hundreds of Inmates Out of Solitary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hundreds of California prisoners locked in stark segregation units could be transferred to regular prison cells under new policies being developed by state corrections officials, reports California Watch. The transfers could include inmates who have been held for decades at Pelican Bay State Prison's windowless Security Housing Unit, which was the center of two recent hunger strikes that drew participation from thousands of inmates. Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are planning to review the files of every prisoner now housed in the state's four Security Housing Units. They will retroactively apply new criteria determining who is placed in the facilities and for how long, according to an Oct. 13 memo from corrections Undersecretary Scott Kernan, who retired last week. "Those who no longer meet the criteria would be released from the SHU (Security Housing Unit)," states the memo, which also was signed by representatives of four advocacy groups and distributed to inmates. some 79 percent of the inmates being held in the special units are classified as prison gang associates rather than full-fledged members. Kernan said a new policy was needed to move some of those inmates out of Security Housing Units to make room for other prisoners who pose a greater security threat. Former corrections officials say the transfer could extend to hundreds of prisoners if the department uses a criteria that focuses largely on an inmate's behavior. |
| Three WA Corrections Officers Fired After Colleague Was Strangled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three Washington state prison officers have been fired and four others, including two lieutenants, have been disciplined for mistakes made before and after a corrections officer was killed at the Monroe Reformatory in January, reports the Seattle Times. Two of the fired officers lied to police and Department of Corrections investigators, and a third was terminated for being away from his post outside the prison chapel, where officer Jayme Biendl worked alone. Biendl, 34, the "officer of the year" in 2008, was not found by fellow officers for nearly two hours after being strangled Jan. 29 with an amplifier cord. She was the first officer killed in a state prison in 32 years. Although Byron Scherf, a lifer, was found outside the chapel with blood on his collar, officers did not search the chapel. Scherf later confessed to the slaying and is awaiting trial. The corrections department withholds names of employees in news releases about disciplinary matters, but the Seattle Times has filed a public-disclosure request seeking their identities. |
| How San Diego Cops Succeeded in Lowering Border Auto Theft Rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alarmed at its ranking as San Diego's hot spot for auto thefts, officers at the city's southern division developed a strategy to crackdown on the thieves, targeting every facet of the crime. Five years later, says the San Diego Union-Tribune, the multipronged approach seems to have worked, with a 65 percent decrease in auto thefts in San Diego's border neighborhoods - from 2,233 thefts in fiscal 2007 to 771 thefts in fiscal 2011. "No one wants to live in a city where every time you park your car, you wonder if it will be there when you get back," said Mayor Jerry Sanders. The No. 1 reason for stealing cars was for the parts, said Capt. Miguel Rosario. They found thieves were also using the swiped vehicles in cross-border smuggling operations, were selling them locally and abroad, and using them as free transportation while committing other crimes. Insurance fraud also accounted for a high number of the thefts, a problem largely solved when officers started taking all stolen vehicle reports in person, rather than over the phone. The two-person unit then identified the known car thieves in the area, became familiar with their tactics, and monitored them during regular probation and parole searches. "They want to point the finger away from them, so they gave us crucial information as to mode of operations and other suspects involved," Rosario said. "As you can imagine, that helped us tremendously." |
| Minnesota Grants Parole to Inmate Who Killed Police Officer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a decision without recent precedent, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has approved parole for a prisoner convicted of murdering a police officer, reports the Minnneapolis Star Tribune. Timothy Eling, 63, was told his life sentence for the 1982 killing of Oakdale police officer Richard Walton has ended after 29 years. Eling killed Walton during a gun battle inside the pharmacy of a hospital. Walton, a father of five children, was off duty and moonlighting as a security guard when, responding to a burglary call, he stepped out from an elevator and was shot in the head. Eling must still serve roughly four more years in prison on a separate 1996 sentence for drug smuggling while imprisoned. He was diagnosed with myeloma several years ago, and he said in an interview he might die before being freed. The extraordinary parole decision follows months of review at the department's highest levels and reflects the belief of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy that some violent criminals have the capacity to redeem themselves through their actions in prison. The decision triggered an immediate and critical reaction from the 8,500-member Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. "If I were to poll the membership, there'd be overwhelming sentiment [for] having capital punishment for cop killers,'' said executive director Dennis Flaherty. |
| Denver Chief: Report Public Official DUI Arrests to Supervisors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman is proposing new rules for drunken-driving stops by his officers, requiring them to call a supervisor anytime they pull over a fellow cop, other criminal justice employee, or any public official, the Denver Post reports. Whitman made the move after Independent Monitor Richard Rosenthal suggested Denver police don't arrest their fellow officers for drunken driving. Mayor Michael Hancock is in the process of picking a new chief, and a new manager of safety, Justice Alex Martinez, is expected to take office next month. Police spokesman Matt Murray said Whitman drew up the draft directive so a new chief and manager could weigh in. "Why should we be the only ones accountable for this standard?" Murray asked, questioning whether Rosenthal had facts to back up his assertion that Denver police had protected their own from DUI arrests. "We are not tolerant of DUI. We are pretty committed in that area. No public officials, in fact nobody, should be driving drunk. We believe there is a standard and everybody should meet it." Since 2005, Denver police have arrested five fellow officers who were found to be drunk after a collision. For about every three of the city's residents arrested for DUI, there is one resident arrested for a collision in which they were found to be intoxicated. |
| Money Falls On OK Highway, Those Who Picked It Up Could be Charged ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You are driving down the highway when suddenly $20 bills start falling from the sky. What do you do? Dozens of motorists along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City on Monday decided to stop and grab as much as they could. Now they could face criminal charges, reports The Oklahoman. No one has come forward to claim the money, a good portion of which is in the hands of police. Dozens of cars were pulled over and people picking up handfuls of cash that were blowing across the road. One witness picked up a little over $400. "Several people were talking about how they were going to get new shoes or pay their electric bills," she said. "I said, 'This money needs to be turned in.' They just ignored me." State law requires those who find money or property to attempt to locate the owner. Those who don't could be charged with larceny. If they found more than $500 and didn't report it, they could be found guilty of grand larceny, a felony. |
| Utah Prosecutor Sues Newspaper Over Racial Remarks Story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Salt Lake County prosecutor sued the Salt Lake Tribune, saying the newspaper newspaper defamed her in coverage of the 2010 election race between Lohra Miller and current DA Sim Gill. Michaela Andruzzi alleges the newspaper ran a libelous story so that Sim Gill, a Democrat, would become the new Salt Lake County District Attorney." She asserted that the article caused her to be demoted and that "her prospects for future job enhancements have been curtailed." The Tribune reported that at a mandatory staff meeting with Andruzzi present, attorneys in her department made disparaging remarks about Gill, including a comment that, "No white soccer mom south of 21st South will vote for someone with brown skin and the name of Simarjit." The Tribune reported that the racial remark was made by a deputy attorney during a meeting of Miller's domestic-violence unit, which Andruzzi headed at the time. The Tribune said that during the meeting, Andruzzi reportedly told staffers their jobs could be in jeopardy or they could be reassigned to lesser cases if Gill won and carried out his pledge to dismantle so-called "boutique" prosecution teams,like the domestic-violence unit. |
| Philadelphia DA Will Pay $255K To Witness Jailed After Trial Delay ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office agreed to pay $255,000 to a witness in a murder trial who said a prosecutor had her jailed to make sure she would testify, then left her there for weeks after the case was postponed, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Nicole Schneyder sat behind bars for 54 days in 2005, the man she called her father died. Schneyder was escorted in handcuffs to his viewing but wasn't allowed to attend the funeral. Schneyder prosecutor Gina Maisto Smith, claiming Smith violated her rights because the prosecutor refused to ask a judge to free her even after the trial was pushed back nearly four months. The settlement came after an appeals court ruled that Smith couldn't claim the immunity that shields prosecutors from being sued for job-related conduct - and that Schneyder's suit could proceed to trial. The judges called Smith's alleged conduct "outrageous" and unconstitutional. "Whether to keep Schneyder in jail should have been the court's decision, and Smith knew it," the three-judge panel wrote |
| Google Rejects Law Enforcement Bids to Remove Negative Material ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Google has been asked by a U.S. law enforcement agency to remove several videos exposing police brutality from the video sharing service YouTube, the company said in an online transparency report quoted by the RT website. A request filed by a different agency asked Google to remove videos allegedly defaming law enforcement officials. The two requests were among 92 submissions for content removal by various authorities in the U.S, between January and June 2011. Both were rejected by Google along with 27 per cent of the submissions. The IT giant said the number of requests for content removal it receives from governmental agencies has risen, and so has the number of requests to disclose the private data of Google users. Heading the list of countries requesting the disclosure of personal data is the United States, where 5,950 submissions targeting 11,057 user accounts have been filed. Google fully or partially complied with 93 per cent of those requests. Second on the list is India, with 1,732 requests over a six-month period |
| Justice History: 1 Million U.S. Prison Populatiion Mark Hit 17 Years Ago ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seventeen years ago today, Oct. 27, 1994, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the nation prison population had topped 1 million for the first time, notes the Washington Examiner. That number more than doubled by 2009 to about 2.3 million adults in federal and state prisons and county jails, says the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Another 5 million people were on probation or parole. There were another 87,000 juvenile in juvenile detention. Of the 2.3 million adults behind bars, more than 2 million were male. About 785,000 were white, 905,000 were black and 475,000 were Hispanic. The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but it has almost a quarter of the prisoners. |
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