Prison Population
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The LATEST
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- Stateline Story
Calif. legislators looking out for stars behind bars
California lawmakers consider "Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson Protection Act." An Ohio Democratic Party staffer is fired when a blogger reveals a blast from her past, and Illinois Democrats get hot under the collar. In case you missed any of those stories this week, Worth Noting fills you in.more -
- Stateline Story
Fla. prisoners deal crime-solving tips
Florida law enforcers give inmates playing cards featuring photos of homicide victims and missing persons in hopes of cracking cold cases. Tennessee gets tough on prison visitors who wear "arousing undergarments." Nebraskans with alcohol-related convictions wear Lindsay Lohan-style ankle bracelets. In case you missed any of those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in.more -
February 14, 2007
Public Safety, Public Spending
This February 2007 report was the first known attempt to determine the future growth of the nation's state and federal prison systems as a whole.
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- Stateline Story
Prison-Population Boom Means Added Costs for States
The U.S. prison population rose 2.6 percent to a record high of 2,166,260 inmates during 2002, according to a recently released U.S. Justice Department report. The increase comes at a challenging time for states mired in a deep fiscal crisis, since 55 percent of all inmates are housed in state prisons. more
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- Stateline Story
States Turn To Private Prisons As Inmate Populations Increase
Used by a number of states during the 1800s, privately run prisons were legislated out of existence due to high-profile, inmate-abuse scandals following the Civil War. However, prison privatization is now back with a vengeance, thanks to mandatory sentencing, prison overcrowding and burgeoning corrections budgets. more
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- Stateline Story
Health Care Costs Rising As Prison Population Grows And Ages
Prison inmates are the only Americans with a constitutional right to health care, and the cost to deliver it is on the rise. States spend 10 percent of their corrections budgets on average to cover the cost of inmate health care -- a total of over $3 billion annually. As the prison population increases, ages and increasingly suffers from chronic illnesses such as AIDS and hepatitis, state policy makers must either foot the bill, change the way health care is delivered or rethink the sentencing laws that led to the problem in the first place. more