TOO MANY AMERICANS LOCKED UP

ISSUE: More than 1 in 100 American adults in prison.

No one wants to be soft on crime. But can the country afford to lock
up more than 1 percent of its entire population?

That's what's happening in the United States, where more than 1 in 100
adults are now in jail or prison, according to a recent report
released by the Pew Center. That's 2.3 million people locked up,
making the United States the global leader in both the number and
percentage of people incarcerated. Even China, a country with more
than 1 billion people, doesn't have as many people behind bars.

In the past two decades state spending on corrections increased by 127
percent, according to a recent Washington Post article, while the
spending on higher education rose by only 21 percent. It now costs
states about $50 billion a year to house prisoners, and the federal
government another $5 billion.

Such startling statistics should prompt states, including Florida, to
re-evaluate aspects of the judicial system.

A good start is a second look at mandatory drug sentencing laws that
were implemented in the mid-1980s. We might be surprised to find that
Florida would be better off if some people currently jailed were in
drug treatment programs, not prison.

Plus, many of those stuck behind bars are minorities, whose
communities have been disproportionately impacted by the growing
prison population nationwide. One in nine black men ages 20 to 34 is
now locked up, and the percentage of black women is one in 100,
compared with one in 355 white women in the same age group, according
to the report.

It's shameful and a waste of human capital. The nation's ability to
compete in a globalized economy is hamstrung by the expense, and the
loss of potentially capable hands.

There are people who definitely belong behind bars. No doubt about that.

But reviewing why we incarcerate so many people might also show that
money spent on housing some prisoners might be better allocated on
drug counseling, education and crime prevention programs instead.

BOTTOM LINE: There are many who belong behind bars, but there may be
others better dealt with outside prison.