Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 US residents, behind bars by last summer....
Men were 10 times to 11 times more likely than women to be in prison or jail, but the number of women behind bars was growing at a faster rate....
The racial makeup of inmates changed little in recent years.... In the 25-29 age group, an estimated 11.9 percent of black men were in prison or jails, compared with 3.9 percent of Hispanic males and 1.7 percent of white males....
"World Prison Populations"
BBC News
Half of the world's prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia. Prison rates in the US are the world's highest, at 724 people per 100,000. In Russia the rate is 581....
"Statistical Presentation 2004"
Illinois Department of Corrections
At the end of calendar year 2004, the adult prison population was 35.1% over rated capacity, totaling 44,054 inmates in a correctional system with a rated capacity of 32,609. Another 33,089 offenders were on Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR). The prison population has grown from 37,658 in 1995, an increase of 17.0%....
