Why is Louisiana the World’s Prison Capital? [VIDEO] [POLL]

The hidden engine is cold, hard cash. A majority of Louisiana inmates are housed in for-profit facilities, which must be supplied with a constant influx of human beings or a $182 million industry will go bankrupt.

If the inmate count dips, sheriffs lose money. Their constituents lose jobs. The prison lobby ensures this does not happen by thwarting nearly every reform that could result in fewer people behind bars.

Every dollar spent on prisons is a dollar not spent on schools, hospitals and highways.

In the past two decades, Louisiana's prison population has doubled, costing taxpayers billions.

Other states are strategically reducing their prison populations -- using tactics known in policy circles as "smart on crime."

Compared with the national average, Louisiana has a much lower percentage of people incarcerated for violent offenses and a much higher percentage behind bars for drug offenses -- perhaps a signal that some nonviolent criminals could be dealt with differently.

Via [NOLA.com]

Poll