• The number of inmates in US jails jumped from 320,000 in 1980 to 2 million in 2000.

• One out of every 142 people in the US is behind bars.

• There were 13.6 million arrests in 2003.

• An average of US$7 billion a year for the past 10 years was spent building new jails and prisons. In California, only one college has been built since 1984, but 21 new prisons have been constructed.

• 5000 US law enforcement agencies use 50,000-volt Taser guns. More than 80 people have died from Taser shootings since 1999.

• At least 13% of inmates in the country are sexually assaulted in prison

• People of colour account for more than 70% of inmates in US prisons.

[Source: China’s Human Rights Record of the US in 2004. Got a shockfact? Email <glw@greenleft.org.au>.]

From Green Left Weekly, May 11, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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