US Prison Population Higher Than Stalin's Gulags
2,763 views · Published 11 May 2013 · 1:42 · Indexed 25 October 2026
Channel: Secular Talk · 2013 · News & Politics
The United States has more people in prison today than the population of Stalin's Gulag Archipelago when it was at its peak. According to an article by Fareed Zakaria, the reason this has happened is entirely due to our costly, and utterly ineffective, "War on Drugs." Zakaria discusses the U.S. prison population as being seven to ten times higher than that of other industrialized nations because of it. Also among the statistics he lists are the 1.66 million people arrested in 2009 because of drugs, and that four out of five of those arrests were simply for possession. Not robbery or burglary, not DUI, not drug-related violence, possession. Sentences vary widely based on the type of drug found, and how much is there, among other things. Approximately 80% of people serving a sentence for possession are first-time offenders, and the average federal sentence is just under seven years, while the average sentence for a state offense is 20 months. Read More At: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/10/u-s-war-on-drugs-all-cost-no-benefit-brings-more-people-to-prison-than-were-in-the-gulag-archipelago/ Clip from the Friday, May 10th 2013 edition of The Kyle Kulinski Show, which airs live on Blog Talk Radio and Secular Talk Radio monday - friday 5-7pm Eastern. Check out our website - and become a member - at: http://www.SecularTalkRadio.com Listen to the Live Show or On Demand archive at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kylekulinski Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kylekulinski Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SecularTalk
