"If current trends continue, US will be as unequal as Brazil in Obama's 2nd term"

[davidn3600]

6. +100

However the reason why our prisons are more populated is not necessarily because of our crime rate, but because we lock people up for petty crimes and keep passing stricter laws that increase sentences.

I remember in the late 90s and early 2000s, the conservatives were bitching about prisoners not serving their full sentences or that their terms were too light. So they pass these mandatory sentencing guidelines and 3 strike laws and 10-20-life laws and various others. Add this to the war on drugs and what has happened? Our prison population has exploded!