For Independence Day, two graphics to remind us of how many people are unfree in the land of the free.
Both portray the statistics in a relative way, one comparing the U.S. to other countries, and one comparing states within the U.S.
The first is from the Prison Policy Initiative:
A grim reminder this 4th of July: The US has the highest incarceration rate of any independent democracy on Earth, making it a leader in mass incarceration.
Far too many people are locked up in the “land of the free.”
The second is from data scientist Hunter @StatisticUrban:
Because "number of prisons vs. colleges" isn't a great stat (both vary in size wildly) I created a map of student population to prisoner population.
The worst state is Alaska, with 4.51 college students per prisoner. The best is New Hampshire, with 93.3. Nationwide is 17.78:
Some of the states with good ratios are noted in the responding comments as exporting their prisoners to other states; I don't know if those are reflected in the stats used. In contrast, some of the states (such as Massachusetts) are notable for having a disproportionate number of colleges and universities that draw students from other states.
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