Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Land of the Free

Today I learned a startling fact: 1 out of every 133 people in the United States of America is in prison, incarcerated, behind bars! This is the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. By comparison Mexico imprisons 1 out of every 505 people. The incarceration rate of the United States is nearly 4 times higher than that of Mexico.

What does that say about the 'land of the free'?

You can view an interactive world map showing incarceration rates of different nations by clicking here. Sources are given on that graphic.

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