3 ms·

> Most people who end up in prison were “bad actors” by definition. Disagree. Majority of the offenders are there for non-violent drug offenses. It is also pos

> Most people who end up in prison were “bad actors” by definition. Disagree. Majority of the offenders are there for non-violent drug offenses. It is also possible some of them are serving sentences for crimes that are no more crimes. California has liberalized marijuana but the prisoners are still in jail for the crimes that no more crimes.

hnaccy 8y ago
>Majority of the offenders are there for non-violent drug offenses. I don't believe this is true.
- GW150914 8y ago
  If only we had access to some kind of worldwide network which would allows us t- -found it. https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offen... 46% drug offenses, 6.8% immigration and we’re already past the 50% mark. That as they say, is a majority. Edit: Looking at all populations state, federal, local yields: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html Note: But the offense data oversimplifies how people interact with the criminal justice system. A person in prison for multiple offenses is reported only for the most serious offense so, for example, there are people in prison for “violent” offenses who might have also been convicted of a drug offense. Further, almost all convictions are the result of plea bargains, where people plead guilty to a lesser offense, perhaps of a different category or one that they may not have actually committed.
  - hnaccy 8y ago
    This doesn't count state systems, including those and it's ~20% drug offenses.
  - pmarreck 8y ago
    Why does this data disagree hugely with that? https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offenders-wont-end-mass-incarceration/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offender...
    - jakelazaroff 8y ago
      It doesn't; it just lumps the federal and state incarceration rates together to draw its conclusion. From the FiveThirtyEight article: > According to the Bureau of Prisons, there are 207,847 people incarcerated in federal prisons. Roughly half (48.6 percent) are in for drug offenses. Additionally, the words "Bureau of Prisons" are actually a link to the same site GW150914 is citing (https://bop.gov/about/statistics/ https://bop.gov/about/statistics/).
pmarreck 8y ago
False. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offenders-wont-end-mass-incarceration/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offender...

hnaccy 8y ago

>Majority of the offenders are there for non-violent drug offenses. I don't believe this is true.

GW150914 8y ago
If only we had access to some kind of worldwide network which would allows us t- -found it. https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offen... 46% drug offenses, 6.8% immigration and we’re already past the 50% mark. That as they say, is a majority. Edit: Looking at all populations state, federal, local yields: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html Note: But the offense data oversimplifies how people interact with the criminal justice system. A person in prison for multiple offenses is reported only for the most serious offense so, for example, there are people in prison for “violent” offenses who might have also been convicted of a drug offense. Further, almost all convictions are the result of plea bargains, where people plead guilty to a lesser offense, perhaps of a different category or one that they may not have actually committed.
- hnaccy 8y ago
  This doesn't count state systems, including those and it's ~20% drug offenses.
- pmarreck 8y ago
  Why does this data disagree hugely with that? https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offenders-wont-end-mass-incarceration/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offender...
  - jakelazaroff 8y ago
    It doesn't; it just lumps the federal and state incarceration rates together to draw its conclusion. From the FiveThirtyEight article: > According to the Bureau of Prisons, there are 207,847 people incarcerated in federal prisons. Roughly half (48.6 percent) are in for drug offenses. Additionally, the words "Bureau of Prisons" are actually a link to the same site GW150914 is citing (https://bop.gov/about/statistics/ https://bop.gov/about/statistics/).

pmarreck 8y ago

False. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offenders-wont-end-mass-incarceration/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/releasing-drug-offender...