Article: U.S. prison population double that of 1985, Justice Department reports.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

WASHINGTON _ The flood of men and women into America's jails and prisons continued last year, bringing their total to more than double the inmate count in 1985, the Justice Department said Sunday.

An estimated 7,888 children under 18 were being held in local jails last year, a remarkable 17 percent increase over the year before, the agency said.

More than three-quarters of those juveniles had been tried or were awaiting trial as adults _ a statistic reflecting the increasingly tough public attitude toward youth crime.

Rapid prison population growth in recent years _ reflecting a national wave of tough anti-drug laws _ has strained state and federal ...

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