This isn't such a big problem as it may seem because unlike other countries, average prison terms in USA are extremely lengtly, and a lot of people with 50+ yea

This isn't such a big problem as it may seem because unlike other countries, average prison terms in USA are extremely lengtly, and a lot of people with 50+ years terms, or even multiple life sentences die in prisons. So while a lot of people are in jail, not so many go there every year as in many countries, and even fewer come out, and many of those who do come out too old to be of a big problem. In many other countries with much lower incarceration rates, the rate of people at large with prison history is much higher, which makes societies criminalized even down to the national character (see 'why Russians don't smile' - spoiler - smile is a sign of submission in prison).