Not Exactly A Good Reputation to Have

...[I]n one area America is going from strength to strength—the incarceration of its population. America has less than 5% of the world’s people but almost 25% of its prisoners. It imprisons 756 people per 100,000 residents, a rate nearly five times the world average. About one in every 31 adults is either in prison or on parole. Black men have a one-in-three chance of being imprisoned at some point in their lives. “A Leviathan unmatched in human history”, is how Glenn Loury, professor of social studies at Brown University, characterises America’s prison system.
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No sane person would rather be locked up in Russia or China than in America. A country as large and diverse as America boasts plenty of model prisons and exemplary training programmes. But all that said, the conclusion remains stark: America’s incarceration habit is a disgrace, wasting resources at home and damaging the country abroad. [Economist]

This is not my area of expertise, but the story is very disturbing to read. Why can't something be done to improve the statistics? What are the differences between our legal system and other developed nations'? I don't know the answers, but I hope to follow the effort that Jim Webb has started and educate myself more on the subject. May be more postings on this later, after I have a chance to look for some additional statistics.