Perhaps you caught the recent headline: "1in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars"
That's right, according to most recent statistics, 1 in 99.1 adult Americans are behind bars.
With a total prison and jail population in excess of 2 million, the U.S. boasts the highest incarceration rate in the world - beating China, Russia, Cuba, South Africa, Iran, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and many many more countries.
Back in the 1930's, when Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was founded in response to a crime wave about 180,000 Americans were in prison or jail - roughly 1 in 700 Americans.
In 1960, prison population hit about 330,000 - roughly 1 in 550 Americans.
Between 1987 and 2007, the national prison population tripled to 2,319,258 leaving us today with 1 in 133 behind bars. By way of comparison, Germany imprisons about 1 in 1,075.
Some random thoughts:
The U.S. also has the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. Is there any correlation?
One in nine black men ages 20-34 are in prison.
America spends $60 Billion a year on prisons. But the recidivism rate is 60% - is it money down the drain?
Why do we have higher incarceration rates than despotic regimes, authoritarian communist states, poverty-stricken countries, and rogue nations?
65% of our prisoners are high school dropouts. 70% are functionally illiterate.
We spend an average of $7,000 per year to educate a youth, and over $35,000 to lock up a youth.
The inmates of Alcatraz were the "worst of the worst," and considered incorrigible. I met six of them while making my film Alcatraz Reunion: they all got married, raised families, and made significant professional or artistic contributions to society.