Where is 1% of the American adult population?

[eppie]

25 years in prison after stealing 9 videotapes. Suddenly, having your hand chopped off doesn't seem to far over the top anymore.

Right. Because, of course, you know all the details of this case and this person. Clearly, he is a good boy, straight A student, a deacon in his church and in the choir, and always respectful to his parents. Stealing those tapes was just a youthful indiscretion.
--Pete

Of course he wasn't, but probably the guy who's hand got chopped of also wasn't a straight a student. Anyway, that is not the point of the discussion here.

The question is if it is true that long and many prison punishments are there to obtain a lot of cheap labour. And this is an argument I personally had actually never heard off. So instead of prison costing loads of tax payers money (like e.g. it does in Holland) the US actually makes money from it. Giving the state a extra motive to keep punishments long, and put people in jail for e.g. having small quantities of drugs with them.

I find this an interesting discussion.

Because as Lissa said earlier, it is political suicide to be lenient on crime. But if the costs would be just to bloody high the republicans would play their 'no government interference card' and vote for less prisoners to save some money.