Incarceration for Nonviolent Crime

There is an ongoing debate in our country on many issues relating to our criminal justice system. One of the most popular debates is the question of whether society is really benefiting from the increased numbers of prisons, jails, and other facilities used to house those who are committing crimes. Most would agree that for those who have committed violent crimes, prisons and jails should most definitely be used, but what about for those who have committed nonviolent offenses or offenses involving drugs? In this paper I will discuss the issue of overcrowding in our prison system and what should be done with those offenders who have committed nonviolent crimes or crimes involving substance abuse. I will explore arguments pertaining to this topic, discuss my opinion and address the opinions of the authors from the textbook “American Government and Politics Today.” According to the Social Research Journal for the Social Sciences entitled “Punishment: The U.S. Record,” the prison population in the United States has increased 650% since the 1970’s even though the crime rate has decreased (Mack 1). As of June 30, 2007 American prisons and jails were holding 2,299,116 inmates. In 2006 over 7.2 million adults in the U.S. were on probation, parole, or incarcerated in jail or prison. Some sources stated that at the beginning of 2008 for every 100 adults in the United States, 1 was incarcerated. Though the actual facts seem to vary a little bit between sources, it is shown that of those imprisoned, roughly 50% have committed violent offenses. That leaves around 1 million people imprisoned in this country for committing nonviolent crimes (“ Drug War Prisoner Count”). In comparison to the rest of the world the United States has the highest documented incarceration rate. While the U.S. has roughly 5% of the world’s population, it has almost 24% of the world’s prison population (“Incarceration in the United States” 1,5,6). Is incarcerating so many people who have

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