“criminal-justice” Charts
US Imprisons More Citizens Than Any Other Nation »
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 24% of the world's prisoner population, while only…
Judges approve more parole after eating; reject when tired »
Parole judges are more lenient when fresh and well fed. As sessions progress, parole is more likely to be denied.…
Criminal Re-offense Rate Reveals Ineffectual Prison System »
The US constitutes only 5% of the global human population, yet houses a quarter of the world's prison population. With…
Public Overwhelmingly Agrees: Prisons Are Impotent »
A recent Pew study found widespread support across party, age, and ethnic groups for shorter sentences and alternatives to incarceration…
Why Are So Many Young Black Men Behind Bars? »
This chart shows the estimated number of male inmates held in custody in state or federal prisons or in local…
The Prison-Industrial Complex »
The number of people incarcerated in private prisons grew by 1,664% from 1990—2009. Meanwhile, the two largest private prison companies,…
Standing Your Ground Against Justice: Murders Increase 300% »
In the five years before Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law took effect, there was an average 32.6 justifiable-homicides annually, with…
Black Weed Offenders 300% More Likely Imprisoned »
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice found that, in California, blacks were imprisoned at 13x the rate of non-black…
How Many Men You Know Have Been to Prison? »
The sad truth is, the racial makeup of the community you grew up in may have a lot to do…
Justifiable Homicides, by Race »
Justifiable homicides are homicides in which the killer is found to have acted lawfully, as in instances of self-defense. For…
Driving While Black (and Brown): Highway Searches by Race »
Ostensibly, it would seem race has little effect on the likelihood of a person being stopped by the police while…
Mental Illness Finds a Cruel Home »
In 2012, the estimated number or people with a severe mental illness in prison or jail in the U.S. was…
What Does Prison Best Prepare You For? »
Americans released from prison are rearrested at shockingly high rates. One reason for this is employment discrimination, which makes it…
Is Prison Just For Punishment? 3-in-4 Ex-Convicts Rearrested »
While the US incarcerates a significantly higher proportion of its population than any other country, our imprisonment system is utterly…
Death Penalties Among Top Executors »
Although many countries have abolished capital punishment, it is still common internationally. China tops the list of the ten highest…
Thousands Endure This Awful Punishment—But Change Is Coming »
In the U.S., an estimated 25,000 people are held in supermax prisons, totally isolated for up to 24 hours a…
Justifiable Murder All the Rage with 'Stand Your Ground' »
As Stand-Your-Ground laws become more popular throughout the Union, so too does claiming self-defense to justify committed homicide. Particularly unsettling,…
Wrongful Convictions: Main Causes for Miscarriage of Justice »
Exonerations, where a convicted criminal is later proven innocent, have increased significantly in recent decades. From 1973-1988 (15 years), 35…
Looking Deathworthy? Perceptions Cloud Justice in Sentencing »
The degree to which a black defendant is perceived as "Black" in appearance, based on preconceived stereotypes, substantially affects the…
Wiretapping Increases 250% in Last Decade, Local Police Lead »
From 2002-2012, wiretap applications rose by 250%. Previously mainly utilized by federal agents, local police are increasingly, aggressively, utilizing intercepts.…
Do Federal Social Programs Work? »
Per-capita spending on federal social programs has increased significantly since the 1960s, but do these programs work? Based on a…
