Nearly half of all U.S. prisoners are jailedfor drug-related offenses
The United States has 5% of the world’s population – and 25% of its prisoners. The average cost to house a minimum-security prisoner for one year is $21,006. By comparison, the average cost of putting a K-12 student through school for one year is $10,615. Nearly half of all U.S. prisoners are jailed for drug-related offenses.
This isn’t politics. These are facts. We wanted to know a little more about what’s going on behind those data.
We took a look at drug sentencing statistics from a 2013 report by the United States Sentencing Commission on sentences handed down in federal guideline cases. Guideline cases are those sentenced in accordance with the rules outlined in the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which set a standard policy for felonies and serious misdemeanors in the United States federal court system. All cases included here are sentences in federal courts, not state courts.
Take a look for yourself.
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http://drugabuse.com/featured/state-sentencing-how-drug-sentencing-varies-across-the-us/