> Being against the prison industrial complex feels good, but in doing so you become directly, personally responsible for the fact that there are now 3 people i

> Being against the prison industrial complex feels good, but in doing so you become directly, personally responsible for the fact that there are now 3 people in a cell meant for one... Is there any evidence that people "against the prison industrial complex" are directly responsible for the rate at which new prisons are being constructed? I'm not sure but I'm inclined to think that this would have more to do with strained budgets than any successful activism. Edit: I looked into this a bit with California as an example. In 2011, the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling that required California to dramatically reduce its prison population. "Justice Kennedy, citing the lower court decision, said there was 'no realistic possibility that California would be able to build itself out of this crisis,' in light of the state’s financial problems." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24scotus.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24scotus.html The opinion of the lower court: "Relying on expert testimony, the court ruled that the California prison system, the nation’s largest with more than 150,000 inmates, could reduce its population by shortening sentences, diverting nonviolent felons to county programs, giving inmates good behavior credits toward early release, and reforming parole, which they said would have no adverse impact on public safety." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/us/10prison.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/us/10prison.html