Never Mind Gitmo—the Real Prison Problem Is Here

(NEWSER) - Thousands of prisoners around the country will have the recession to thank for setting them free, Ken Steir writes in Time. With California planning to release nearly 160,000 prisoners from under-funded, overcrowded prisons, and other states transferring drug convicts to rehab, the US is likely to see a wave of ex-convicts walking the streets. The trick for government officials is rehabilitating them, and finding them a job. More»

'Tough on crime' proving expensive stance as state resources dwindle, study reports

(NEWSER) - One American adult out of 100 is incarcerated, a new study shows—the first time in US history such a high proportion of the population is behind bars. The Pew Center on the States reports the nationwide prison population grew by 25,000 last year, to 1.6 million, with around 700,000 others in local jails. More»

Study concludes that longer sentences don't make streets safer

(NEWSER) - Getting tough on criminals through longer prison terms—at an annual cost of tens of billions of US taxpayer dollars—hasn't made a major impact on crime, concludes a study released yesterday. The US prison population has increased 800% since 1970—giving the nation has the world's highest incarceration rate—but the crime rate is equal to that in 1973, researchers reported. More»

Inmate's lawyer rips 'cruel, prolonged' solitary confinement

(NEWSER) - A once-secret Guantanamo disciplinary cell block was built for a whopping $700,000, reports the Miami Herald . The existence of "Camp Five-Echo"—intended as a grim punishment section for "uncooperative" detainees—was only confirmed last week, even though it was built by the military in 2007. The 24-unit boxcar-style block walls off prisoners with no view beyond their steel cells. Saudi-born Shaker Aamer, 45, a British resident, has been held there more than 100 days, said his attorney. "In Shaker’s case it’s prolonged solitary confinement. The conditions are cruel,” the lawyer added, noting that his client hasn't been a troublemaker, but is considered too "charismatic" to be housed with other prisoners. More»

Many terrorists serving time at US federal prisons

(NEWSER) - Scores of convicted terrorists are serving time in US prisons that are far from the public eye—and public outcry—of Guantanamo Bay, the New York Times reports. Aggressive prosecutors nailed most of them after 9/11, often with a preemptive strategy that relied on informants to troll for terrorists. Officials found that holding them at US federal prisons was far cheaper than imprisonment at Gitmo. But "there’s a huge national debate about how dangerous these people are,” says a terrorism expert of the 362 convicts currently serving time. "Somebody ought to be studying this.” More»