© Joshua Lott / Reuters
Female prisoners were once unheard of in most US counties, but in the last half-century, they have been filling cells with higher rate increases than their male counterparts, according to a new study.
Mandatory minimum sentencing and the drug war have contributed to the phenomenon of prison overpopulation, but even as the issue grows this presidential election year, the full scope of the impact on American life is still being uncovered.
In a
study released Wednesday by the Vera Institute of Justice and the Safety and Justice Challenge initiative,
the number of women in prison and jails in 2014 was reported to have multiplied nearly 14 times from 1970."Once a rarity, women are now held in jails in nearly every county — a stark contrast to 1970, when almost three-quarters of counties held not a single woman in jail," the report read,
according to the New York Times.
Women made up only 11 percent of all arrests in 1960, but by 2014, that figure more than doubled to 26 percent, the recently-published report found.
While the imprisoned population has grown overall, with men still far outnumbering women behind bars, the rate increases are much higher for the fairer sex. In 1970, under 8,000 women were held in municipal and county jails for misdemeanors or pre-trial procedures, compared with 110,000 in 2014.
Comment: Sounds like Chevènement wants Muslims to be so discreet that they disappear, never to disturb the delicate sensibilities of so-called civilized people ever again.