America reached a new record this year, but it's not one that comes with bragging rights: We've reached the point where one in every 100 adults is behind bars. In Mississippi, one in every 97.3 adults is in prison or jail.
"One in 100: Behind Bars in America in 2008," a landmark study published by the Pew Center on the States, provides a snapshot of prison growth, an analysis of prisoners by race and gender, and suggestions to stem the increase. Statistic wonks take note: These are numbers that will curl your hair. The rate of incarceration for African American men, for example, is staggering. One in every nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are serving time.
In Mississippi, a state with a total adult population of 2.17 million, 22,335 people—10.3 percent of the adult population—are behind bars. African Americans outnumber white prisoners by about three and a half times in the state.
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