Article: U.S. leads world in jail population. (excerpts from 'Americans Behind Bars: A Comparison of International Rates of Incarceration' by Marc Mauer)

The United States now has the world's highest known incarceration rate, with 426 prisoners per 100,000 population, "America Behind Bars." A decade ago, the United States ranked third -- behind South Africa and the Soviet Union -- but since then has experienced a doubling of prison and jail populations, says the report's author, Marc Mauer, assistant director of The Sentencing Project, a non-profit organization that promotes the development of alternative sentencing programs.

One reason for the U.S. surge past South Africa and the Soviet Union is the different directions that the three nations have taken in criminal justice policies, says Mauer.

In the ...

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