By Brenda Servin |Staff Writer| The economy is in poor shape and the growth of prison budgets is costing us tax money. According to Rollie William’s article on Upworthy.com, the United States prison population ranges from 2 to 3 million a year, which is 23.5 percent of the world’s incarcerated population and the average annual cost per inmate is $31,238. Think of all the money spent yearly on inmates and the fact that the money for the prison budget has to be taken from other government funded programs. In some cities across the United States it can even affect the education budget. Our tax money is in the hands of government officials that determine what the money is used … [Read more...] about Incarceration costs vs. education costs
overcrowding
Inmates must be released but which ones?
By Carmen Herrera |Staff Writer| California is in a heap of trouble. Within the next two years, about 33,000 inmates must be released due to overcrowding in the California state prison system, the largest nationwide. The ruling was caused by citing overcrowding in prisons as being equivalent to cruel and unusual punishment. The question now is who exactly will be the “lucky” ones and be released? If this ruling is going to take place, than inmates with minor offenses should be the ones released, rather than criminals with serious offenses. Having minor offenders placed in the same prisons as ones with serious and threatening counts has not worked. The prison population has … [Read more...] about Inmates must be released but which ones?