America, "home of the free," actively destroys more of its citizens’ lives, per capita, through imprisonment, than any other country in the world. It puts people in jail at a higher rate than even communist China.
Based on the latest figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Drug War Chronicle estimates
that more than 530,000 people were behind bars for drug offenses in the
U.S. at the end of last year. Drug offenders accounted for about 25
percent of jail inmates, 21 percent of state prison inmates, and 55
percent of federal prison inmates. The total number of people behind
bars was about 2.3 million, an all-time record, giving the U.S. an
incarceration rate of 724 per 100,000–the highest in the world,
according to the Chronicle, which says we even beat out China this time.
If you have any fondness for the government of this country; federal, state, or local, then you’re a fucking moron. I’m serious. Take it to heart; quote me.