Why Does the U.S. Have Such an Insanely Large Prison Population?

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Super lengthy insanely deep dive videos like this would not be possible without the support of our Patrons on Patreon, as built in KZbin ads simply do not otherwise cover it. :-) So thank you to our Patrons, and if you'd like to help support more ultra deep dive videos like this, please do go check out our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/TodayIFoundOut 0:00 Intro 2:33 The Problem is Not the War on Drugs or Private Prisons 4:04 What's Actually Happening and How Did It Start? 8:12 Tough on Crime 14:17 Half a Million Held Convicted of No Crime 20:06 Private Prisons 24:30 Shooting Yourself in the Foot and How to Fix It 39:40 A Country That Has Fixed It With Remarkable Results and How They Did It 47:54 Bonus Fact

[@doctorkdsify]

Another issue is that many prisoners really need mental health treatment.

[@typerightseesight]

because like half of people that actually want to live get the short stick. anyway.

[@jayjay-gl4fj]

@@typerightseesight you are so right!

[@--enyo--]

Does Warographics have a Patreon?

[@ILikeMyPrivacytbt]

Your channel should cite your sources in the description, I would love to read them.

[@taylorbug9]

My dad died in jail when I was 4. He was a drug addict that had turned himself in to do his time and get clean. His heart gave up one day and the jail staff stood around and watched him die while his cellmate begged them to do something to help him. He wasnt a violent offender. Just a drug addict.

[@aq5426]

Welcome to the US--where being an addict is a crime, and if you've done so much as write a hot check you're not even considered human anymore.

[@Foxiz]

I'm sorry for your loss. It in many cases seems that *to be an addict* is almost worse than the addiction itself. - Especially when you're open about it or have already quit. It's... I can't even put words on it... 😖

[@Hollylivengood]

So sorry for your loss. I've heard of this.

[@jeffdroog]

Technically,according to the U.S. injustice system,being a drug addict is a violent crime.

[@sindrek8]

My dad beat the crap out of himself and then hung himself with his hands tied, aren't prison guards just wonderful people?

[@defecakes845]

As an American. This is a very well worded explanation. Thank you very much. This is one of those things that I knew how and why it worked this way, but couldn’t describe it.

[@gazza595]

This should be a documentary on network TV, brilliant work Simon. Thank you.

[@jeffdroog]

If you watch Last Week Tonight,with John Oliver,then this is on TV.

[@jergarmar]

@@jeffdroog I enjoy LWT as much as the next guy, but this is MASSIVELY more serious and more in-depth. I'm glad both exist, but we desperately need longer-form stuff.

[@jeffdroog]

@jergarmar Not wrong.Unfortunately John Oliver has a much more public situation going on,and is likely has much more fears of government repercussions.He has to walk a finer tight rope.

[@adamgossett3150]

Yea good luck old boy

[@csonracsonra9962]

Seriously while leaving out George Soros and Steven Spielberg going around buying up local District Attorneys all across the country? The vice president raising bail money for all kind of riders and people setting government buildings on fire just to get elected they're literally asking China to send more fentanyl over when we have lost more people to that then the ukrainians have lost to war all together? I guess you're right they can run this on CNN and it will fit right in

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

This is by far the most approachable documentary on mass incarceration I've seen. It doesn't say anything I haven't been complaining about for decades now, but it all sounds so much more obvious and sensible coming from a well-groomed British gentleman. Truly, this is excellent work. It should be required viewing in social studies curricula across the country.

[@Foxiz]

Personally, I'm amazed if anyone was surprised by the video! 😶 But yes, it was really on the spot. 🙌

[@peterwarner553]

​@@Foxizperhaps because I'm not American, I was shocked, amazed, horrified and saddened.

[@Foxiz]

@@peterwarner553 I'm not American either, but I know that the jail and prison system is broken, both in the US and in Sweden, where I live. Maybe it's because I'm interested in politics, equality and the likes, or the fact that I have been *really* messed up by the Swedish legal system, or both, but I can't understand how anyone was shocked by this video - even though it depicts a really awful reality.

[@aplihhama]

Simon, I think this is the best show you've ever done. Thanks to you and your team. In depth and thoroughly researched.

[@chrisedwards3866]

This is probably one of the best videos ever put on youtube. I hope more people watch it, and it helps to push for the much-needed changes in our justice and prisons system.

[@stalker42]

For the longest time I never understood why we don't use sentences such as community service in place of jail time to keep people engaged in their community. After all, the origin of penitentiary is penance from the Quakers. Isolating someone and then suddenly releasing then is a surefire recipe for failure.

[@nyastalgiakitten]

I feel like it's another form of inhumane torture, forcing someone to do community service might make them reconnect with people and they'll actually rehabilitate, but the US prison system doesn't want to rehabilitate, it wants to torture, isolation is torture, who cares if torture leads to repeat offenders? More prison labor

[@letitiajeavons6333]

The Quakers allowed for Bibles. Some forms of solitary allow no reading material. Also the Quakers later abandoned the practice of solitary confinement.

[@stalker42]

@@letitiajeavons6333 The Quakers did utilize partial solitary. Prisoners were given a Bible and expected to remain silent, even when with others out of their cell. But the expectation was that they were studying the Bible and learning from their sins. These multidecade sentences are a more recent invention.

[@EQRuges]

Because then you have people crying endentured servitude and then cruel and unusual punishment.

[@stalker42]

@@EQRuges Community Service is already used, ergo it's not unusual. I think a reasonable person wouldn't view it as cruel.

[@roberteltze4850]

There are prisoners sitting in jail waiting for their trial that have been incarcerated for longer than what their maximum sentence will be if found guilty. At that point charges should be dropped and the person released.

[@markfreeman4727]

but that not good enough, the judges and DA's need to have more 'wins' on their records to get elected

[@Hollylivengood]

The work programs aren't just in the for profit prisons. State prisons have the same thing. In Georgia, they do farm labor, city works, construction labor, and factory labor. You can recognize them on the factory floor by their clothes, and they all have to do the shake down thing when they leave. It's just like the prison lease system, the prison gets paid for their labor, and the prisoners get like 50 cents an hour. They put it on their commissary. Of course, it's voluntary labor, but people have told me you stay in solitary in freezing cold temperatures until you agree to do the labor. They also eat better if they agree to labor. It's like that in Tennessee as well.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Well, that'just disgusting and disturbing, but this whole system is.

[@surfingbrrrd]

As much as people love to say California "let's criminals do whatever" it's actually very much like that too here. So many of the firefighters you see fighting Forrest fires are actually California prisoners

[@Patson20]

The only labor prisoners should be doing is cleaning roads and maintaining state property, not making someone a profit.

[@MrStacy1974]

@@surfingbrrrd The sad part is they can't get a job as a firefighter after release despite their experience because of their criminal record.

[@Patson20]

​@surfingbrrrd sounds like they are directly befitting the society they owe a debt to. Serving the community they harmed and gaining a valuable skill.

[@jergarmar]

Hoooooly cow, this might be your magnum opus, AMAZING video. I thought I knew something on the topic, and you mentioned some of things I knew, but you kept going beyond the superficial layer, going to details and specifics about laws, practices, and trends. I'll be sharing this one as much as I can.

[@pjsw]

Really enjoying the longer videos on this channel

[@Don_of_the_Dad]

There’s a popular American musical group by the name of System of a Down. They have a very informative musical number regarding this issue. Its title is “The Prison Song” and gives both statistics and causes of the US prison population.

[@DMTrance87]

I love the duality of your mild comment as compared to the highly... Energetic... Song 😂 I don't listen to the genre much anymore, but SOAD will always be my favorite rock/metal group🤘

[@EveryFairyDies]

And that song was written over 20 years ago... 🎶I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch right here in Hollywood (Nearly two million Americans are incarcerated in the prison system, prison system of the US) Minor drug offenders fill your prisons you don't even flinch All our taxes paying for your wars against the new non-rich Minor drug offenders fill your prisons you don't even flinch All our taxes paying for your wars against the new non-rich 🎶

[@Nefville]

All research and successful drug policy show that treatment should be increased And law enforcement decreased while abolishing mandatory minimum sentences I remember listening to this song in high school. SOAD and RATM were two of the few major groups that tried to use their influence to highlight and change minds on social issues at the time but seeing as how I listened to that song in what 2002, it safe to say they failed. Sad.

[@erictheredguy]

Soad is my 2nd fave band and I couldn't agree more

[@troygarza5720]

Their not American though bro. They are South american Brazilian if I recall

[@1st_Amendment_Is_My_Right]

I haven’t started the video. But as a retired Detention Officer that worked booking for around 3 years or my 6 years with the department. The vast majority of people coming into the system was for minor or low felony offenses. Example we would book anywhere from 5-10 people per day for unpaid traffic citations. Some people have 10-30+ unpaid traffic citation warrants placed against them adding up to thousands that they must pay in cash or be sentenced for them. 80-90% of the charges against people where Public Intoxication, DUI, DWI, APC, minor and major traffic citations, minor and major larceny crimes, minor drug possession or (minor version ) drug possession with intention to distribute, obstruction of a officer, resisting a officer or minor Assault and Battery and a few other random but minor crimes.

[@daniellarge9784]

​@@Sh4dowgaleWe have a WINNER of the most inane comment on the internet. Congratulations.

[@cameron398]

So to start you worked at a JAIL not a prison. Massive difference. Most people in a jail or for petty issues and only people spending 365 days or more go to prison.

[@WarblesOnALot]

@@Sh4dowgale G'day, Somebody should have Educated your Parents regarding Prevention of Unwanted Conception... You might never have become such an Exemplar of Wrongheaded Ignorant, arrogant, hubristic, smugness & complacency as an Individual - had your parents merely Better understood the Mechanical constraints of Contraception Technology... You apparently owe your very Existence, To hormone-driven intellectual Ignorance...; Apparently someone is Line-breeding for mindless Self-Entitlement...(?). Perhaps they thought your Cohort would prove to be more Pliable and Marketing-Jism compliant set of Customers if your Ancestors raised you-all to feel fully entitled to harshly judge your fellow Humans... In order to boost your own Self-esteem. Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@r.guerreiro140]

The infamous "easy jail culture"

[@MrStacy1974]

So it seems that spending more money on education and mental Healthcare care actually save the U.S. money in the long run. Hmm Maybe it really is cheaper to do the right thing.

[@the_silent_tortoise]

It's only cheaper if you aren't running for office...

[@alphavasson5387]

This is true for a lot of things! Giving houseless people houses is often less expensive than letting them living on the street, shorter work weeks result in increased productivity, etc. It pays to be good!!!

[@richardcranium3579]

@@alphavasson5387homeless. Sweetening the verbiage doesn’t change facts. By house I’m assuming 2400 sq ft, yard, etc……

[@getnohappy]

To say "some would prefer prison" it's such a fascinating accidental admission that for many one's country is a dystopian hellscape

[@troygarza5720]

I went to prison at 14 and I remember when I got out at 20 I find myself after a few months sitting in a corner and crying trying to find a reason why I wouldn't go back and couldn't come up with one. I cashed a friend I had made and they where like bro you been out for 8 months almost a year just give it longer. To this day not a day goes by that I don't think about my time in jail. Mentally my mind still lives like I am

[@zotha]

This topic could easily be a 3 hour monster on Into the Shadows. The industry that has grown around keeping people incarcerated perpetually has so many rancid parts to it. When you think you've heard the worst thing about the way things work 10 more just come bubbling up right after.

[@matthewc4590]

I'm impressed. A few years ago you (Simon) didn't pique my interest very much, but lately have been really engaging. It almost seems like you've gone soul searching and found some sort of deeper meaning worth talking about.

[@luisillo1987]

The "cost" of each prisoner is insane. Long story short, we have more prisoners for a longer period of time, so the select few can make more money.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Slave holders of a new era

[@catasrophieGrrl]

Also, if you're just picked up off the street or from work or wherever one day and placed in jail, whatever income you had coming in stops. Often your home, possessions, car and everything else you have in the world just stops that moment with you. You can't pay rent or board or mortgage - home gone, can't get someone to pick up or store your belongings - they're all gone for good. An awful lot of incarcerated people come out not only homeless, but with nothing, not even documents needed to open a bank account etc. It's expensive to be homeless and with zero possessions, surprisingly.

[@angelachouinard4581]

I once worked in a large courthouse which had a parole office. I met a parolee at the bus stop one day who told me he'd been in five years and everyone he knew from before disappeared from his life. But if he would socialize with anyone he knew from prison it was a parole violation. These people have to have some connection to society and family or they give up and go back to their old ways and associates. All you mentioned is true and that makes it harder to connect and start a new life.

[@empressmarowynn]

When my uncle was sentenced to a year for selling drugs several of us went to his place to go through everything, throw away what was garbage, clean his place, and then my mom, aunt, and another uncle jointly paid to store his furniture and other items in a facility until he was released. We had to drive for 5 hours just to get there, spent the whole day cleaning, packing, multiple trips to the storage place, and then another 5 hour drive home. Not everyone has people in their lives who are willing and able to do this for them but his siblings wanted to make sure he would have a life again when he got out. There's so little compassion and assistance for those who have been released and politicians are incentivized to keep it that way.

[@angelachouinard4581]

@@empressmarowynn My handyman has a huge family but when he got out only one aunt was there for him. Your family sounds awesome and I wish them a happy new year. Hope your uncle is doing OK, it's hard to get going again even with just a short sentence.

[@TheSquirrelChaser]

I got arrested for mental health issues. Spent a year fighting in court while I sought treatment and tried to put my life back together. I was eventually forced to take a plea deal, went to prison for almost a year, and received no treatment while I was there. Prisons in the American south are particularly harsh. I still have ptsd from all the things I experienced there. I got back to treatment when I got out, but the state's intervention did not make a better person out of me. It got in the way, and gave me all new problems. It has been over a decade now, and my life is still not whole again.

[@Creeperhash]

I did 5 flat for stealing a case of beer here in Texas. I feel ya

[@markfreeman4727]

how were you 'forced' to take the plea deal? and how can you be arrested for mental health?

[@TheItalianTrash]

@@Creeperhash 5 years for petit larceny is insane. I'm guessing you had prior convictions, right?

[@captainCrunchChris]

@@markfreeman4727they keep pushing the date of the case if you don’t take a plea deal saying they don’t know what to give you,essentially saying sign a confession that you did the crimes even if you didn’t so that you and everyone else can get on with their lives instead of investigating what and why happened

[@markfreeman4727]

@@captainCrunchChris ya that sounds about right

[@antonsimmons8519]

People are built to move upward, not downward. That's why Norway's thing works. When you show people a good life, then show them how to keep or even upgrade said life later on, most of them just flat-out won't take serious risks anymore. Too much to lose. People with a lot to lose are WAY less likely to do crime.

[@ax.f-1256]

Bingo. And THIS is also why the US justice system works exactly opposite of Norways. *To make SURE* that people would again commit a crime, because they have nothing to loose. Because the US has even privatized Prisons. And inmates are required to work (most of the time for free) Free labor for big corporations. It's called the "prison Industrial Complex". And as usual the big corporations, that bribe all politicians benefit from it the most. So naturally you have to make sure that there is a steady flow of inmates. And with the US system there is... The system in the US works exactly as designed.

[@ea42455]

​@ax.f-1256 Depends on the state. We have no privatized prisons in Kentucky. We once did, but they experienced so many problems (riots, escapes, contraband, etc.) that resulted in the state legislature shutting 'em down. Now all jail facilities are operated by the county, state, or federal government. Bear in mind Norway in no way compares to the US. Its population shares a common history, culture, and ethnicity. Also, Norway is the geographic size of New Mexico and has a population (app. 5.5 million) the size of South Carolina. The geographic size of the US is slightly smaller than all of Europe and has a population of 340+ million. It seems the mantra, "Our strength is in our diversity" often heard in the US just doesn't hold water. The US is just too large and too diverse to make adjustments and swift changes.

[@georgeosborn3223]

The state of Illinois has eliminated cash bail. Arrested persons are brought before a judge who decides if the suspect will be held or released. We'll see how that goes...

[@liamwinter4512]

Heil DEI

[@BruceBoyde]

I think it makes sense if judges use basic sense. If someone is likely to be a danger to the public or a flight risk, why in the world should they get bail as an option? And if they aren't either of those things, why should we determine how much their life is going to get fucked up based on their wealth? In the limited examples we have (like D.C.), the very vast majority of people show up for their hearings. And if they don't they get a higher charge, and arrest warrant, and are now a flight risk if they get arrested again. All that aside, keeping people in jail is EXPENSIVE, and not needlessly holding people saves serious money. Edit: oh, and it's worth noting that only two countries still have cash bail. And it's not like the U.S. is exceptionally safe or anything compared to similarly wealthy countries.

[@djrakman3909]

I love america. Ya'll are like "we'll see how that goes". Like the it does not work for the rest of the world at lowering offending while on bail lol.... If your comment does not get the most likes the system is corrupt....

[@BruceBoyde]

@@djrakman3909 What are you even trying to say? This evidence cited for this video and all other evidence says that eliminating cash bail is purely good with no particular negatives. "We'll see how that goes..." Implies a frankly unfounded scepticism. One based on probably innocent ignorance, but ignorance nonetheless.

[@jayjay-gl4fj]

that is going backwards to me.

[@rogerszmodis]

Land of the free and the home of the largest prison population in the world.

[@preppertrucker5736]

Land of the incarcerated more like…..

[@glenngriffon8032]

Didn't you know? America is the richest nation in the world so to keep it that way we made poverty a criminal offense punishable by up to 30 years in prison. When inmates get out they better have used those 30 years to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and accumulated wealth or they'll have to spend 60 years in prison because it's a second offense. ....someone help us please.

[@Jimmy_Jones]

Well the EU just decided to go ahead with a digital ID that will be required in order for you to get healthcare or make payments. It won't be long until every country follows suit.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Brave with an unregistered gun concealed and carried because of those “others”

[@liamevans7661]

Land of the full of shit tbh

[@jamepearson]

Bravo Simon! This was well executed and paced from start to finish. Great job.

[@teachingthecode4651]

This is one of the most important videos this channel has ever produced. Thanks for the good research, and hope for a better future out of this American Dystopia.

[@FearlessP4P1]

The annoying part is that we have an insane rate of incarceration, yet we still have an insane rate of crime and murder. I constantly see news involving a murder committed by someone who’s been arrested like +10 times. We need a change from both sides of the issue.

[@the_silent_tortoise]

It's because our system is built to punish, not rehabilitate. It's built to treat people like animals, and if you treat a person like an animal and release them back into a normal environment without support...

[@flexinclouds]

Agreed. I think we need to stop releasing repeat offenders so easily.. But also implement serious changes to actually rehabilitate inmates & give them a better chance of success once free. Run-down inner cities have their own problems to deal with too, creating a perfect environment for creating/encouraging criminals & crime. But mental health, the breakdown of normal family & societal values, and everyone being worse off & poorer thanks to Democrats.. has certainly played a role in worsening this problem.

[@danilicious2308]

​@@flexincloudsahh yes, the democrats. All following in the same line as their famously democratic presidents Nixon and Reagan.

[@person35790]

Well, we take a simple pot smoker, put them in jail for 6 months or more, allow employers to hire based on unrelated criminal records so they can’t get a job and basically force recidivism. It’s not annoying, it’s a blatant function of the system to keep private prisons making money. On the other side, people who are rich and do far more societal harm than most people in prison get petty fines for ruining the lives of thousands through fraud and creative accounting. We do little to encourage people to not be criminals, instead pretty much making sure they continue to be.

[@micnorton9487]

​​@@flexinclouds..oh Christ,, it's the Democrats is it? Look up a think tank named alec, American legislative exchange council,, who work with the private for-profit prison industry and have consistently pushed for the most rabid sentences for drug offenders of any country on the planet... It's no secret that there's more inmates in state prisons for being nonviolent drug offenders (many of whom are of course black) than for committing minor offenses while being black...

[@SharonHF]

My best friend’s husband spent a decade between prisons in CT for vehicular manslaughter (he was VERY drunk & killed his girlfriend). Not max security and only arrest, he was allowed visitors at all facilities he was in. One I remember him saying he could’ve just walked off the property, though he wouldn’t have since he was serving time he deserved. I just know the state was double dipping… while we was being charged for his “stay” doing work in the prison, a lean was put on his grandparents’ house he inherited. It was worth more then his stay cost, but the state decided they had a right to its value.. which was a lot more than they said his incarceration cost.

[@jonstone9741]

That's legalized theft, and it's despicable.

[@oldmanspooky6641]

That is messed up. Amazing how the state robs people and how wrong things are.

[@brickpopo4951]

How much was the cost of his innocent girlfriend's life. Her family. She and they had hopes and dreams. Forgot about them I guess. He's watching TV. Maybe has a new girlfriend. Take her to Disneyland or honeymoon in Hawaii.Oh, by the way. She's still dead.

[@Jin420]

​​​​​​​@@brickpopo4951 it'd be one thing if the state took it to pay the victim's family.. but I HIGHLY doubt that's the case here. This is more about the prison getting federal funding for his incarceration but they also put a lien on his house as a "restitution" type of bs. (Comparable to civil forfeiture -- another bs that law enforcement loves to use frequently.. basically allows them to take whatever they want without any consequences. But in this case, he HAS to satisfy the lien -- otherwise they can legally seize it from him) The family can also file a civil law suit if they felt that this was a wrongful death case. Ijs.. However (again) I don't think that's the case... at least not based upon how I'm understanding it. Best wishes ❤

[@WKRP187]

The Commonwealth of Kentucky now charges you for your daily stay in their prison facilities. So when inmates have paid their debt to society and are released they actually haven't even started paying their actual monetary debt to society. Ensuring that already poor prisoners are screwed before they are released and will be much more likely to return and pile on more debt and the cycle continues 11:27

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

thanks so much for this video have always wondered why the US has such a huge number of people behind bars compared to other advanced countries and it was worth sitting through this rather long explanation to find out it just turns out the truth is complicated as the truth often is ⚛😀

[@3nim3nimabl3]

Other advanced countries? Please explain😂

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

by "advanced" I just mean rich heavily industrialized and technological countries such as those in western europe, japan and now china although he did say china has as many prisoners we do but it's much bigger in population than US for example I would NOT call pakistan an advanced society culturally it's more like something from the middle ages in addition to most of its citizens being DIRT POOR does that answer your question buddy

[@freddiechromartie]

⁠many people in America are dirt poor too so...

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

true even though we have the resources to more or less abolish poverty here we don't do it one of the reasons is there are wealthy and powerful people who benefit from poverty's continued existence but afraid even fairly well-off middle class people like me also derive advantages some believe if the wealthy actually paid all the taxes they owe there'd be almost enough money to end poverty for good another factor is our HUGE defense budget which is probably one of the causes of the failure to provide universal health care which should have happened yrs ago⚛😀

[@Narangarath]

This video didn't even touch on the fact that shockingly, once you stop imprisoning people for petty offences, and stop criminalising poverty, mental health issues, addiction and homelessness you have barely any prison population left. Like in Finland, where we have under 2800 total people (including every single person for any reason) locked up the last number I saw.

[@spandrel53]

Best show to date. Considering the overall quality, that's really something. Thanks for producing.

[@MrSlimSheaD]

I had a chance to study under Professor Pfaff at Fordham (the professor Simon quotes at the beginning). I learned more in that class than in the entire rest of law school. What’s cool about his approach is in addition to being a law professor he’s a PHD in statistics, which was an angle I’ve never analyzed this problem from before. Would definitely recommend his work if you’re interested in learning more about this issue.

[@JamesMCrutchley]

A friend of mine who I game with online had to deal with her son who was 17 when arrested spending over 4 years in jail before all charges were dropped. He was caught up in a raid at his school looking for drugs by doing random locker searches. They found a suspicious powder in his locker. It later tested to be salt. But a drug dog had indicated so they arrested him after not bothering to test a sample with there supplies kit. He was held and bail was set at 100k. His parents could not afford bail and had poor credit. Two years later he was approached by his state appointed attorney who said he had been offered a plea deal. He could serve another five years with 10 years parole. He said while smiling like this was great. The kid refused. He had his day in court two years later where the DA talked to him an hour before trial saying he should take the deal or he would push for the maximum sentence. It was an election year. Just before the trial was set to start all charges were dismissed. My friend found out later after a freedom of information request the DA knew the test results since before the first plea deal and sat on it. The second time the deal was offered the kids attorney knew about it too.

[@jonstone9741]

The DA should be disbarred and in prison.

[@capslockbusted]

That story couldn't possibly be true. This comment section is full of scholars telling us that you won't go to jail if you don't commit any crimes, and that it's very simple.... and they all lived happily ever after, The End

[@Soff1859]

​​@@capslockbustedwell in other countries thats actually true. Its not like its not possible, just not in americas crazy system.

[@peterwarner553]

That's just horrific 😢

[@seraphicrecon]

That is messed up beyond reason.

[@tammyelizabeth5157]

Mental health care was stopped as far as actual institutions in the 1980s. Far too many people who end up in prison, actually needed mental health care.

[@gaoxiaen1]

Along with too many LEOs.

[@Dan-yk6sy]

Yeah, I think that is a major contributing factor missed in the video. Any one dumped out of the mental health facilities were just dumped into the streets to end up in jail instead of fixing the government mental health facilities.

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

That's the same in Australia. I forget the exact number, but a horrendous percentage of those incarcerated have either mental health issues or learning deficits and shouldn't have been left to fend for themselves in the first place. It would be interesting to see the incarceration rate in a country that did all the different things we know are effective in reducing criminality before people get that far down the wrong path.

[@charlessweeney2460]

To be honest Simon, I always click your notifications.. so I will be back when I'm comfortable at home. I like taking in as much as possible without too many distractions.

[@Incognito1786]

I heard of Norway's system long ago, and every time I've told someone in the US about it, it made them mad Norway "treated their prisoners better than their citizens", and said it'd "make them more likely to reoffend".

[@STOREpappa]

The argument they use is kinda brilliant because at first glance it could sound logical, when in actuality it's just very stupid and illogical, and completely goes against the statistics

[@Big_Pickle]

Norway isn’t comprised of the same demographics as America. Use your brain!

[@ax.f-1256]

​@@Big_Pickle Yeah the US.... USA, USA, USA !! 😂😂 Where the income inequality is higher than in Chad, Burundi, El Salvador, Yemen, Susan, India and Bosnia. Why not have even more multi billionaires in the US while homeless veterans are starving ? The US where the public education system is ruined more and more by the day by politicians trying to finally enforce privatized schools that only benefit the rich, because the poor won't be able to afford them. The US where the same guys that want to privatize schools complain about rising crime rates despite the fact that it has been proven several times over by dozends of studies that people with bad education have a up to 66% probability to commit a crime or depend on social security system because the won't get a good job without good education. The US where people that are working three jobs, but can't get a better paying job because of the sh*tty education system failed them, are looked down by others and are told to "just work harder". The US where Republicans want to allow child labor again. The US where there are almost as many people in Prison as in China (including the Chinese re-education camps) despite four times smaller population. The US where on average only 67% of all homicides are ever solved by the Police. The US where everyday 12 children die because of gun violence. The US where in 2022 alone more than 43,000 children experience gun violence at school. The US where people instinctively throw themselves on the ground and duck for cover when they hear fireworks because they fear it's a mass shooting again and instantly get PTSD like a Vietnam vet... The US...the country of the free and the brave. Where you are free to see your children die or land in prison because you are so brave that you dare to live there....

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

@@Big_Pickle Yeah. They have state funded health care and education, so their citizens are healthy and educated. It's amazing what a difference that does to a person's ability to get a job. They don't have to stay with a bad employer just to keep their family's access to health care, either, so they're free to leave a bad job and look for something better. Of course they also have humane minimum wage laws so a worker on a minimum wage doesn't need to steal something to pay for their kids' dinner, and they get a decent amount of time off so they won't lose their job if their kid gets sick and needs a parent at home for the week. People who are educated, healthy, and free, are a very different demographic to the US.

[@richardcranium3579]

@@mamasimmerplays4702we have state funded education….where to N you think the illegal aliens pouring across the borders put their kids? In school….. Now as far as college goes that’s on you. Not everyone needs it or wants to go. Show up at any emergency room sick and watch what happens….they will see you. A doctor will see you. They have to. That includes the illegal aliens as well. Where is this whole people dying on the streets thing? Doesn’t happen unless they choose to stay there. Nothing is free. Socialism turns into fascism. Every time. The countries you mention are not socialist. Those of us who work get to finance those who won’t. Great. Nice. Minimum wage jobs were never intended to be a career. Those jobs were meant for kids to learn how to work a regular job. Raising minimum wage does nothing but raise costs of everything else. Should minimum wage stay stagnant? No. Been to McDonalds lately? A meal there costs just as much as a regular restaurant with the minimum wage going way up….as a result their traffic is lowered. You can’t have everything free hanging on trees to be picked like fruit. Nothing is free. Ever. It doesn’t exist.

[@kyab2815]

One off my mom's boyfriend was in prison and visiting him was a heck of a process but you could tell how starved for normal contact he was so i never begrudged going. It wasnt anything like in movies. basically a hospital waiting room full of small tables and vending machines. Maybe 20 to 30 tiny 2 person tables each with a convict and their family with incredibly expensive vending machines with things like microwave food, card games, and small entertainments. We were there for 5 hours and i don't think he let go of my mom's hand even once. He wasn't a good person in the end but prison sure didn't make him better and it also didn't deter him from doing even worse things after getting out than what he'd been convicted for.

[@MrMapex2010]

Guess what, there is nothing that will change a person unless they choose to do so. Prison is much more about removing the person from society to stop offending for that time period and give the victims some form of sense of justice. Rehabilitation is a fallacy that falls on the offender

[@kyab2815]

@MrMapex2010 while you cannot force someone to change people are fundamentally shaped by their experiences and circumstances. The prison system as it is currently in America takes pretty offenders and turns them into lifelong reoffenders. It's been proven that rehabilitation focused systems have drastically less reoffenders. While the ideal purpose of prison is a matter of personal values I believe the purpose should be to decrease crime and create the safest society possible and rehabilitation based systems do that according to the data.

[@MrMapex2010]

@kyab2815 please show me the stat's where these systems have worked where there is a comparable history of violent offending. To pick a country like Switzerland, for example, is not a reasonable comparison due to the considerably different culture and socio-economic systems. I'm in Australia where we have a very "rehab" focussed system. Whilst yes, once you're in gaol, it's not a university but there's a lot of systems in place of the offender chooses to utilise them. To get into gaol however is substantially more difficult. We have youths on bail (freely granted, no financial bond) for murder and attempted murder where they have gone out and murdered further people. Google Alice Springs youth crime and watch kids run wild because the courts refuse to incarcerate them and instead rule them to take part in programs yet don't enforce there attendance or compliance. People have lost their lives thanks to a "rehab" type system. I agree some people got dealt a bad hand at life but does not give you right to destroy other people's lives.

[@kyab2815]

@MrMapex2010 look up the stats comparing us states if you are discounting cultural differences although I would argue that part of changing the prison system is also working to change the culture around it. States with more rehabilitation programs have less recidivism vs states with harsher systems. States have tracked the differences before and after introducing programs meant to rehabilitate offenders. Also the vast majority of offenders especially first time offenders aren't violent offenders and the entire system should not be based on only a fraction of the people in it. Any good justice system should be capable of recognizing and treating offenders based on the severity of their crimes.

[@idrathernot_2]

​@@MrMapex2010literally every other country is proving you wrong

[@Thomas...191]

Ive read a few articles on this baffling situation over the years, this seems like such a deeper and quality analysis than my previous perusals. I love how this does not have some univariate magic bullet solution. Great video, great reaserch thanks for putting in the time.

[@jonstone9741]

The Norwegian model, with its emphasis on rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, has provided an effective alternative solution to the warehousing and punishing of prisoners.

[@marshallleevalentine]

I stopped studying law when I realized how fucked it really is. What really pushed me away from becoming a lawyer was seeing lawyers push for the harshest penalties for even the most minor offenses. Small amount of weed that a cop would have normally confiscated? That’s maximum punishment. I couldn’t do that, I was studying law because I believed in something very different

[@markfreeman4727]

did you believe in justice? because i regret to inform you the law and justice are two separate things

[@bigsmiler5101]

I learned this around age 63 from living in rural Pinal County Arizona, which is run by a mafia-style cult, led by a sheriff who created & leads a national association of sheriffs who say they are accountable to No One. I had to get lawyers because I thought I could fight for truth & justice. Then I tried to sue lawyers for extreme malpractice. Minor example is my lawyer staring at the floor while the opposing attorney introduced new & False "evidence" DURING CLOSING STATEMENTS. After finding ZERO (0) lawyers who would help me sue a lawyer I am now Blacklisted & can't get a lawyer for Anything, not even minor real estate issues. -- I went on to study what the heck the US Constitution says about that 3rd pillar of government--the Judicial Branch. Think about it, it says almost Nothing. It does say there shall be a cluster of judges and the President gets to appoint a handful at the TOP, which 99.999% of us NEVER interact with. ALL the rest of our lawyer/justice system has been created by, and answerable to 50 PRIVATE organizations called the State Bar. It's roughly equivalent to all traffic laws and penalties being run by Ford Motor Corporation. FACT: Lawyers' loyalty is Not to their Clients but first & foremost to the Bar.

[@markfreeman4727]

@@bigsmiler5101 yup that sounds about right, my grandfater was a good cop in a crocked department, and when my dad got in trouble, he always got out of town layers. which says it all i think i know next to nothing about lawyers, but i'd try turning to those non profit orgs and see if they help you. hope your doing better now

[@harrison1669]

This might be the most important video you’ve ever made - definitely my favourite. Well done all.

[@mattiemathis9549]

Great episode! Daven great job!!!

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Thanks! :-) -Daven

[@DennisRash]

Its always heart warming when a guard does get assualted but many prisoners come to protect him. Or when they are having a medical episode and they cause a ruckess to get the attention of other guards to help the individual that is having the issue. You know that guard does his or her best to get along with the prisoners.

[@old_man_fran]

Simon, Daven, and team, this us your finest work. What an eye-opening, succinct yet thorough and informative video, on such a complicated and emotional subject. I don't wear a hat, but I'm going to find one so I can take my hat to you. Then I'm going to look for any online or KZbin awards of sorts that I can suggest this video to. Awesome work.

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Thanks! :-) -Daven

[@Shinzon23]

Stupidity. The war on drugs was stupid and the continued existence of it the way it was in the 80s is even more stupid

[@JDWanko]

One last thing-bravo to Daven Hiskey for even wadding in these waters. Tough subjects need honest conversation. Honesty sometimes-maybe often-requires courage. Thanks DH for having courage.

[@videogamevalley7523]

…..”fish sticks dipped in toothpaste” ……says enough.

[@REConcreteLLc]

Thanks for raising awareness on the issue.

[@ReikaLady]

Like a lot of other awful policies in the US, the cruelty is the point.

[@THE-X-Force]

REALLY good fkn video man. Thank you for the deep-dive. ☮

[@johnhazlett3711]

The problem isn't being tough on crime per se. It's dealing with the root cause in the first place. Frederick Douglas stated, "It's easier to build strong children, then to repair broken men".

[@jer103]

It's only broken because of how we define crime, and we really ask ourselves WHY people choose criminal behavior as common behavior.

[@dangreene3895]

13 percent of the population does close to fifty percent of the crime and over fifty percent of violent crime , and of that 13 percent close to 70 percent are born out of wedlock with a single mother as the parent , So what Frederick Douglas was correct in his assumption

[@capslockbusted]

What you fail to realize is that the carceral system breaks men. Also, his name is "Douglass".

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

It's easier to build strong children when their parents aren't taken away and locked up.

[@iPsychlops]

Excellent video. Thank you and your team.

[@cs5384]

My son's father spent over two years in a federal immigration detention center for the heinous crime of being brought to the US as a child and not leaving the only country he knew when he became an adult.

[@gomahklawm4446]

Still a crime....

[@rossross3689]

Maybe ur anger should be directed towards his “parents/guardians” at the time, not the US government.

[@cs5384]

His "guardian" was a Catholic orphanage in Pachuca Hidalgo that sold him to work when he was six instead of taking care of him when he lost his parents. And then again the American living in Cancun who bought him to be a houseboy and beat him until he ran away. And the other American who brought him to the US with a truckload of other pre-teen boys to work tobacco and told him he'd die if he tried to escape. It's never as simple as people make it out to be and blaming the victims is so easy when you care more about your agenda than the details . @@rossross3689

[@cs5384]

NO shit it's a crime it's a civil misdemeanor which generally warrants a fine and no jail time but because we've monetized the immigration system it's more lucrative to vilify immigrants instead of the people who make bank off making them out to be the root cause of all evil in this country. Did you even watch this video? This is about how wealthy people profiting from imprisoning people is so terrible and you're justifying this behavior as if illegal entry is some dangerous felony.@@gomahklawm4446

[@cs5384]

And let me just say this. My problem isn't so much with the federal government it's with the prison for profit system that has people SO CONDITIONED that they think someone should be imprisoned for two years for a civil misdemeanor without any regard for the situation. This man had done nothing but work his ass off and I'd dearly love to see the people who cheated him out of an honest day's labor but they don't get in trouble for that because it's a civil issue. But his civil issue cost him his life. He went in a strong healthy young man and came out with TB, a fungal infection from head to toe, and he was emaciated because he had an ulcer and couldn't eat a lot of the gruel and "lunch meat" they provided. He didnt' live much longer once they dumped him on the other side of the fence with no money or access to any resources. (I bet people don't know they do that or care either, but that's one reason why they're so likely to come back, because they have no food and they get robbed of everything when they get dumped and it's often quicker to come back than try to make their way in one of the most dangerous parts of Mexico. It's often come back or get in to a gang). He was abused in this facility he didn't even need to be in since his charge was a civil misdemeanor. That's the entire point of the video!@@rossross3689

[@CA-sy1iw]

Great video!! Outstanding and interesting

[@SeanNyte]

This needs to be seen by everyone...

[@billyfugate4823]

I had some "civil discourse" with some family not too long ago about how prisons should be places of rehabilitation for convicted persons under a certain criminal threshold and they made the exact point that if prisons were better that would encourage more crime and that people would intentionally be locked up. My argument was that if making such basic changes to the prison system would make life behind bars preferable to having your freedom, that should tell you that there is something very wrong with how society is currently.

[@Patson20]

The biggest issue now is recidivism, you'd have to make prison a real resort to make people WANT to go. Most people don't realize how even if it's a nice comfortable room with limited activities, you still don't wake up and sleep when you want. You still can't go where you want and you still can't see or do what you want, so it still sucks. Up to a certain point prison should be all job training, therapy, and detention. Give them reasons to not come back, and not fear

[@jmanj3917]

37:15 And, Brain Boy, let's not forget the value of public shaming. It hurts to know you've let down your loved ones. It's a solid motivator when done properly.

[@madmick3794]

American business has moved in the Australian private gaol system. My brother at 23 was held for 6 months while pleading for his epilepsy medication. The doctors only visit once every 3 months and was told he had to wait for assessment. The doc gave him a different medication he has never been on, with in 2 months he was legally blind. They changed his medication and when his time was up he was refused release unless he signed paperwork saying the company and its employees were excused of any wrong doing. He was held an additional 3 ½ months till his lawyer had his hold order overturned. He is paid $200 AUD per week for being made blind where no issue existed before.

[@zurielsss]

That's terrible, sue them to bankruptcy

[@madmick3794]

@@zurielsss stupidly only the doc is liable. Awaiting more legal advice atm

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

@@madmick3794 Getting your local politician involved is your next step. And the media. Don't expect justice from the courts that put him in that situation in the first place!

[@mikelfunderburk5912]

I've done time in a Louisiana prison. It was a new unit but, it was 23 hours per day lock down. Very rarely we were allowed outside, other than to go to the chow hall for 30 minutes

[@HumanityisEmbarrassing]

You make no point, this is nothing but a statement that makes it look like incarceration in high security is something you feel proud of.. Being locked up in high security is really not something you should be comfortable sharing with the world. Do you want a medal? Public praise? 😂 No.

[@paigeharrison3909]

My brother spent two years awaiting trial and the prosecutor told him he'd keep him for another two if he didn't take a plea.

[@tomflynn8265]

When I got out of The US Army, I had zero support from my family, no idea what "Benefits" were available to me, and, most importantly, no CLUE how to access them. As a result, I self-medicated my psych problems with booze, and my physical problems with heroin/fentanyl. As a result, I now have a felony for possession of two capsules of narcotics looming, and the terror of being just another cog in the wheel of the prison industrial system to look forward to if/when I get pulled over. In any other civilized, first-world country, I'd be able to pay a fine, do community service, and be on my way. Here in The Good Ol' "Land of The Free" however, I'm looking at upwards of 5-years up the river for a Class-C Felony for having enough of a narcotic to be able to allow a PTSD-suffering Veteran a night of good sleep without horrific dreams. If I had busted a beer bottle over a guy's face in a bar brawl and sent him to The ER, I'd spend a night in the drunk tank, have a bologna sandwich for breakfast, and be discharged by noon. Trying to mind my own business in a laundromat and having the cops come do a "stop & frisk" maneuver for wearing shabby clothes on laundry day however, and I risk half of a decade in The Pen. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who thinks Tough on Crime is the way to be. Your Nation's Heroes really appreciate it.

[@BillyBasd]

It's the stupid drug war. I'm sorry our country has let you down. You don't deserve this.

[@TriCountyMotorsEastman]

I volunteer at a prison. The one I go to has GED classes. It also regularly has OSHA classes for prisoners close to release. They also do a reentry class for those about to get out. There are additional classes, but I am not around them to know what they are

[@jackturner214]

On 30:14, PTSD is rampant among corrections officers; one truism I have heard from those who worked in corrections is that even if you're a prison guard, you're still in prison.

[@graycow1]

Love the content and agree. Just an FYI. You talked about and showed a picture of Idaho State Correctional Institute. This was never a private prison. The prison that was is currently called Idaho State Correctional Center, formerly Idaho Correctional Center. I know because I work there.

[@kaljic1]

I work in the legal system. I seems to me that the minute the federal court started Mandatory Sentencng Guidelines, prison populations mushroomed. In other words, with MSG, the Judge's discretion in sentencing was not eliminated, but severely limited. After the feds instituted MSG, the States did too, and well, that's when everything went to heck

[@markmarco2880]

Thank you. I wish this video were required viewing in America. 🌿

[@Phlucious]

Universal healthcare and college education instantly remove the fairness argument against providing these services to inmates. I wonder if the cost reduction in prison services would cover the bill. 🤔

[@AKingInYellow]

I am envious of that fantastic beard. As for the video, it is a great subject. I've always enjoyed these grittier topics.

[@chongonugs]

Land of the free, home of the for profit prison industry. Warehousing people in the bare minimum (if you're lucky) and treating them like property since inception! It's not a bug, it's a feature.

[@usernameONBEKEND]

Now I'm interested in Norway prison system. Let's see if Simon already made a video on that.

[@coldmoonlight6361]

There are people in prison here who shouldn't be.... But there are plenty of people here who aren't in prison, but should be.

[@shamdonnosnikta9570]

yep

[@Patson20]

Used to we'd put people who didn't need to be in prison but needed correction into community service. But everyone got so upset about "convict labor" it's rarely used anymore. We need to get back to sentencing petty crimes to community service, have them cleaning up litter, fixing roads, building and maintaining parks. Keeps them out of jail and from losing their jobs.

[@phenomenallymeapparel7877]

This was wonderfully done and makes perfect sense too bad the politicians in America have no common sense and have no interest in actually making our country a better place. I was arrested once for assault (it was self defense) I have asthma and almost died in there while looking at the nurse who had my inhaler. I spent what felt like an eternity begging for help because I couldn't breathe. I understand people have to pay for their crimes but you can't treat people worse than you would an animal and then just throw them back into society. Jail should be about rehabilitation not just punishment. Thank you Simon and Team for this wonderful episode.

[@mave2k]

Wait a sec. We're putting people in jail for months or even years WITHOUT conviction?!?! And we're the ones with the HIGHEST number of jailed people?!?? So we're pointing our fingers at other countries for imprisoning people unjustly, but we're the worst offender? What the hell is going on here?!?

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

Bingo. China has the whole world staring at them for the mass incarceration of the Uyghur, meanwhile the US is mass incarcerating anyone who is poor or BIPOC and pretends like it's business as usual. Meanwhile the civilised world has found a whole lot of strategies that substantially reduce criminality, and the US does none of them.

[@monstersdad67]

Excellent presentation of the US Prison system !

[@aa64912]

Used to be a billboard close to the Georgia state line “Go to florida on vacation, go home on probation, come back on violations “ the late governor Lawton Chile’s called prisons “ new clean job industry “

[@AliciaGuitar]

My neighbor's kid here in TN went to FL on spring break and still hasn't made it back. Idk what he did 😳

[@jayjay-gl4fj]

Good video

[@RED-cy7ig]

I really don't understand this. Where I live in the US. There are criminals given reasonable bails for crimes such as murder. They are accused again of murder while on bail and again given bail. This happens so often no one is ever suprised.

[@kx4532]

It's expensive not to teach people how to live.

[@JuuJuuism]

A poor person trying to get by is just that...put them behind bars however, and suddenly they're pulling in some profit for some prison system. Fucking disgusting.

[@Kingmeri]

I would have liked to see more nuance here - yes Norway is a great example of prison reform going well, but why didn't you talk about California's bail reform? By almost all accounts California has been liberalizing its bail system to disasterous results (mass homelessness, open air drug markets, etc.). Why is one model successful and one is not? What is working well in the USA (outside of family visits) and what is not? Is changing in media reporting affecting policy and/or crime preception? There is more to discuss here - your hypothesis of "tough on crime" is ineffective does not prove that liberalization is effective.

[@Clark-Mills]

If you run a prison as a commercial interest, your interest is in having more customers to increase the profit take over time. This is the primary problem with "commercial" prisons; they have absolutely no interest in reformation - quite the opposite in fact. Fundamentally it's the parents fault, but that finger-pointing can go back forever. It takes a village to raise a child; and to raise a parent.

[@CallMeByMyMatingName]

Yes, the "DOPE" (department of prison enforcement) is completely fucked. No ethical person would say it's opporating satisfactorily. While the way a parent raises a child does influence the actions of the resulting adult, it does not mean that a poorly raised individual will act poorly. Many people can think for themselves and learn to act right in spite of their upbringing. Undisconversely, it does not mean that a person raised right will act as such. If it was totally the parent's fault, the parents should be arrested instead of the person who committed the crime.

[@anivicuno9473]

The parents' fault for not being rich? The law in its magnificent fairness, prohibits both the rich and poor from begging, stealing bread, and sleeping outside.

[@saint-miscreant]

the main problem with private prisons is the combination of profit incentives being tied to incarceration (and making incarceration operational costs as low as possible) instead of correctional outcomes, PLUS poor oversight from local and federal governments, PLUS the eye-watering amount of money the private prison industry (which is mostly 2 companies) spends lobbying for harsh criminal policies… and don’t even get me started on the mandatory occupancy clauses in some contracts! there are private prisons in Australia / New Zealand with things like recidivism targets incorporated into the profit incentives, which makes for less bad prisons, but ultimately there is an issue with the government outsourcing a core state function…

[@jonstone9741]

Even prisons that aren't owned by private corporations are money-making enterprises for the prison guards and staff who earn salaries and benefits. Correctional officers have powerful unions in many states.

[@gordonlumbert9861]

The DA issue has gone the other way in some major US cities.. The reaction to people with multiple cases in the system out commiting more crimes..

[@PalmelaHanderson]

Absolutely excellent. I've said it a million times - the overwhelming majority of prisoners in the United States *will* get released one day. Even most murderers don't die in prison. What kind of person do you want them to be when that day comes, and they move in next to you? Someone who has been beaten, tortured, raped, starved, and brutalized for years? Or someone who has been taught better habits and been given therapy to help mentally cope? Obviously everyone would choose the latter, which highlights a particular problem: In America, a majority of people don't *want* jail/prison to be about rehabilitation. They might say they do, but they don't. Not really. They want prison to be about punishment. You can throw all the stats at people about how such and such lowers recidivism rates and costs the taxpayers less money, etc, etc, etc, they don't care. The idea that a criminal is sitting in a cell block somewhere eating ramen noodles and playing spades makes them *seethe* with anger. At the end of the day, emotion trumps logic. As long as criminals are "paying" for their crimes (whatever that means), that's all that matters.

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

You've got it. The average citizen of the US hates their neighbours so much that they vote against the "free" health care that would save their own child's life because their neighbour's child might benefit too. How much more will they vote against humane treatment and rehabilitation for those incarcerated, often for things they didn't even do?

[@adamh8876]

It’s absurd that judges and DAs are elected by popular vote in America. Gee, what could go wrong?

[@Incubansoul]

They are either elected themselves or appointed by other people who are elected by popular vote. Either way it sucks.

[@regpharvey]

How should they be appointed, then?

[@Nick-zw1zw]

​​@@regpharveylike everywhere else. They're hired based on their qualifications and experience. You wouldn't want people to vote your doctor in.

[@JChang0114]

​@@Nick-zw1zwWho hires them?

[@Nick-zw1zw]

@JChang0114 where I live they're appointed by a judicial council.

[@Aemirys]

This script was extremely well written!

[@bentoth9555]

CoreCivic is just... there are no words for how evil those people are...

[@kenthomas1080]

This was excellent

[@therakshasan8547]

With many states in the US revoking the right to vote if convicted for a felony [ some states any conviction] States do not have any constitutional right to revoke any right within the Bill of Rights. But for some reason no one is fighting this. If you want your political party to maintain control just convict the opposition party .

[@DaGARCE1]

The revoked right to vote (and other rights or privileges when convicted as a felon for gross misconduct under the law) is pretty common throughout the US for the fact if someone is convicted of a felony, they have shown they are not one to respect the society they live in (by breaking the laws) and thus cannot be trusted by society to live in it the same as those who do respect those laws. You can see it now in countries like Russia, Ukraine, china, Iran, N. Korea, the US under the Biden admin and the Canadian government under Trudeau as examples of the current leader/political party using lawfare to maintain control by restricting rights and privileges of their opposition. It is sad to see it happening in so called western-civilized countries (not so civilized in reality) using the same strong arm tactics to control people and maintain government control as those in known corrupt countries like Russia, Ukraine and Iran.

[@Brian-tn4cd]

When talking about the Norway system im reminded of a comment id read on another video about prisons that lead me to an article, there was a day in a prison when the guards in charge left the cells of the prisoners unlocked by accident and what the prisoners did with that was bake sweet bread/cake and watch movies, they didn't try to escape, the guard responsible for the accident wasn't even mad that they did this, he was mad they didn't leave any sweet bread/cake for him

[@nukers1234]

I personally think the Norwegian way works best, like these days i have with me an apprentice, who is still in jail, but during work hours mon-friday get out to work with some restrictions

[@aq5426]

We're not a civilized country--therefore the Nordic model won't work. :/

[@RockitFX1]

​@@aq5426I disagree, I think it CAN work. But it will certainly require a lot of reform.

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

Between the 1930s-1970s, Norway used to sterilize people with mental health issues (and disabilities). Also, if you look at crimes in Sweden after 2015, you'll notice something.

[@anivicuno9473]

​@@RockitFX1 The problem with the US is that it will immediately turn into another revenue source. If implemented, the prisoners will get paid cents an hour, while working at Amazon warehouses. This is because according to yhat great constituition, slavery is a-ok as long as you call the slave a prisoner.

[@Straymonsta]

Its not about being civilized its about size. If the US was the size of Nordic countries the crime stats would look very different. Not saying we don't have issues but we are a massive country.@@aq5426

[@relint12]

This is such a good report / essay on the costs of our police state policies.

[@rogerbartlet5720]

We love our jails! Almost everyone knows someone who's been in jail!

[@A_Man_Named_Mark]

It should be hard to be arrested, and difficult for DA's to convict. But, if convicted of a serious crime, you should be sent to a prison that focuses on real rehabilitation.

[@huntercollum869]

TLDR: Because the prison industry is extremely profitable. 10 cents out of every dollar in my state is tied to the prison system

[@Redkrovvy]

I am a cardiology PA. A hospital I used to work at had an agreement with the closest prison to accept inmates as patients if something our mid-size hospital could take care of (we were a trauma center but if it required a big teaching hospital or something like that I imagine they’d go there first and get transferred but we handled 99% of things). They had guards and were shackled to the hospital bed. Even if they were in a coma. I sort of get it but I always thought that part was a bit much, though I guess it was policy at the prison for safety just in case. I think maybe we could take one off if they were coding and it interfered with life saving measures for some reason. I only had ONE prisoner ever remotely attempt to “act up” on me or even try to take advantage of being there (except maybe they did take advantage of the hospital food, and honestly I don’t blame them for that, we actually had decent food and if you have ever seen prison food you know how borderline cruel it can be). The inmates may have been convicted of awful crimes, but if they had a heart attack, their tough exteriors evaporated. Just like everyone else afraid for their life. I never knew at the time of treating them what their convictions were and it made no difference to me in terms of treatment, I had to treat them the same. I didn’t overmedicate them, but I also didn’t hesitate to appropriately treat pain just like anyone else if they needed me to manage pain. I made a point to call the inmates by their names and look them in the eye while listening to them describe symptoms. It wasn’t much but I felt it was important to give them some sense of feeling like a human if they were going to be hospitalized anyway. They got “free healthcare” which many might see as unfair. But face value transactional fairness isn’t the point, because the more you treat inmates like humans, the less likely they are to reoffend and victimize another person, which is certainly unfair. Being treated like an animal or object for punishment doesn’t actually reduce recidivism for anyone who would otherwise reoffend. Poor treatment only works to deter people who made a mistake once and are extremely low risk to reoffend anyway. Being treated like a human, however, makes people want to act like humans, and that really does reduce recidivism.

[@mamasimmerplays4702]

Kudos. Btw, the civilised world sees "free healthcare" more as a human right than an unfair benefit.

[@macD723]

I really hate when people, especially from other countries, talk about this issue as well as how many people are in prisons, or how much crime there is in the U.S. People just don't get the actual scope and size of what they are talking about. They always think of the U.S. as one big country, when in fact, it's made up of 50 small countries. Each state is the size of countries in say, Europe. To get a proper comparison, you would need to look at 50 countries in Europe as one big country. When you break it down and look at just one state that has a similar population to one country in Europe, you'll find that there isn't much difference.

[@clarkwhite998]

Yeah, the per capita incarceration rate is higher in the US because there are just more Americans!

[@MinusMOD98]

It will be interesting to see how the Swedish correction system changes through the rise of "law and order" rhetoric due to the gang wars, which you recently covered on Warographics. Swedish prisons also have overcrowding problems, with even some detainment centers being at capacity.

[@Cultural_chronicles411]

Thank you for doing a video on this! I am An American in Child Development field and education and getting people to acknowledge what old fashioned ideas on "morality" and punitive punishment have done to our culture and society. There's a better way and it makes me sick to my stomach the shit that goes on in parts of the United States of America. We don't deserve our place on democracies stage in this moment in history maybe we never have 🙄😒 but I'm fighting everyday for the next generation to be free of the trauma of living in that world, creates.

[@penultimateh766]

You have never been raped obviously.

[@Waywardwindfall]

So many of our citizens live in 3rd world conditions. I just saw a John Oliver episode that said there are still 6% of American’s who don’t have safe drinking water. People went to bed without food, in mine and your town/city. This place is repulsive.

[@penultimateh766]

@@Waywardwindfall Dude, have you ever even visited any other country with more than 100 million people?

[@Waywardwindfall]

@@penultimateh766 probably not. The only travel I can afford is going to poor countries on cruises. Why do you ask? Just stating that poverty is repulsive everywhere? I can only speak to the repulsion I feel in my country based on my (limited) knowledge.

[@penultimateh766]

​@@Waywardwindfall The poorest person in America is fabulously wealthy compared to the average person in similarly large countries like India, Indonesia, Nigeria, China, Russia etc. Go there and open your eyes.

[@verdatum]

One of the best vids I've seen you guys do in a long time. I was into "tough on crime" decades ago. I was wrong. I want to fix this.

[@EmceeWhitey]

Also, the US held the title for the largest slave population in the world before the "end of slavery". I put that in quotations because slavery never truly ended. In fact, the 14th amendment, which is regularly credited with ending slavery ACTUALLY states something to the effect of "slavery shall be abolished EXCEPT for those who have broken the laws of this land" basically stating that if you have been convicted of breaking the law, you are essentially now legally a slave to the government and can legally be treated as such. As the activist and artist Mysonne said "we can't end slavery, too many residuals, so they don't call you slaves no more they call you criminals". 💯 Knowledge is power, skills are freedom.

[@ToWhom]

This was really interesting.

[@davidmccarthy6061]

Has been the new legal slavery for a long time. For profit prisons with inmates doing call center work, etc.