2 ms·

25% of the world's prison population is in the US, a country that makes up 4.25% of the world's population Land of the free

• echelon 4y ago
  I wonder what percentage are in jail for gun-related crimes. The easy availability of guns is one thing that distinguishes America from other advanced economies. Edit: I found a variety of sources that suggest 18% of state and 15% of federal prisoners. Nowhere near as high as I was expecting.
  • atdrummond 4y ago
    Many of those gun crimes are people who previously committed a crime and were thus barred from owning guns. It’s an easy way to keep people rotating back into the carceral system.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  • MacsHeadroom 4y ago
    Hah, most US prisoners aren't even in prison for violent crimes.
  • culi 4y ago
    That's still quite high. But the real thing that contributes to the US' crazy high incarceration rates is we tend to have much longer sentences than other countries The US doesn't actually have that much higher crime rates than other countries otherwise though Another issue, like this article points out, is that once you're in even if you get out your life is pretty much ruined and you're much more likely to go back in