US Population vs Prison Population

So? In Brazil, criminals go unpunished. In Saudi Arabia, criminals are quickly executed or are subjected to corporal punishment so they don’t actually spend time in prison. In Britian, murderers often only get 5 years in prison. In Japan, there is just a lot less criminals. There is much less crime in Vermont than Chicago, but that doesn’t mean that the higher prison population in Chicago is unjust.

Some of our sentencing policies for drugs usage are overly harsh, and I applaud Trump’s efforts for reform, but you can’t look at broad statistics and declare an injustice.

One of the statistics circulating is that the US has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prison population, implying that there is an inherent injustice. 

My answer:   So? In Brazil, criminals go unpunished. In Saudi Arabia, criminals are quickly executed or are subjected to corporal punishment so they don’t actually spend time in prison. In Britian, murderers often only get 5 years in prison. In Japan, there is just a lot less criminals. There is much less crime in Vermont than Chicago, but that doesn’t mean that the higher prison population in Chicago is unjust.

Some of our sentencing policies for drugs usage are overly harsh, and I applaud Trump’s efforts for reform, but you can’t look at broad statistics and declare an injustice.