[extropy-chat] Futures Politics

[Jack Parkinson]

From: "Matus" <matus at matus1976.com>
  Wrote
  > -----Original Message-----On Behalf Of Samantha Atkins
  > 
  > In the US we have 2.3 million
  > in prison I heard very recently.  More than any country.  More than
  > any country on a per capita basis ever in history.  I have heard that
  > around 60% nationwide are in on drug charges, most for simple
  > possession.  After decades of such hate-filled abuse it still
  > 
  > - samantha
  > 

  Ah another one of my favorite statistics.  Really Samantha, does the US
  imprison a higher percentage of it's population than Vietnam?  Burma?
  Cuba?  Saudi Arabia?  And where exactly do these statistics come from,
  their respective ministries of honorable and reliable information?  

  Do we ever get to see official sources for these statistics?
The UN website has some independent reports: http://www.unicri.it/wwk/related/pni/docs/2001/walmsley.pdf
You can also find this short statement  at the UN website: 
World Prison Population - Overview

...In order to fully understand the magnitude of the problem, it is important first of all to have an appreciation of the number of prisoners incarcerated world-wide. The second edition (2000) of the World Prison Population List shows that over 8 ½ million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, either as pre-trial detainees (remand prisoners) or having been convicted and sentenced. Half of these are in the United States, Russia and China, and the first two countries also exhibit the highest prison population rates...

Googling for 'UN statistics on imprisonment by country' is quite fruitful.

Jack Parkinson


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